NRSY
by Ohfortheloveofpete
Summary: Naruto and Ruby set out to become ninjas...because ninjas are awesome.
1. Chapter 1: Getting Schooled

_Today we're making a Naruto: RWBY fanfic. And no, the Naruto and the RWBY characters aren't declaring war against each other. That would be messy. They're actually going to be working together. It's going to be awesome! I hope._

 **Chapter 1: Getting Schooled**

Naruto was feeling rather excited. Today was the day that he was going to pass the ninja exams once and for all. He was going to be so proud of himself.

But before he did that, he was going to have to wait in line with a bunch of other wannabe ninjas that were hoping to pass their exams.

"Aww..." said Naruto.

In his class were several students that he happened to be friends with. One of them was Ruby Rose.

She passed with flying colors.

"You, lady, are a prodigy!" exclaimed the teacher.

"I know!" nodded Ruby. How exactly was she so skilled?

Oh wait, that's right. Maybe it was her mother. Her dear sweet late mother.

Next up was her sister Yang.

"Show me what you've got." said the instructor.

Yang nodded and gave off an impressive display of her semblance.

"You pass." said the teacher.

"Yes!" exclaimed Yang.

After waiting for what felt like an hour (or maybe two), Naruto's turn was up.

"You can do it!" cheered Ruby.

Naruto was glad that someone was cheering him on. All the other students seemed to think that he would fail.

His test was to create a shadow clone of himself.

"Alright, here I go!" exclaimed Naruto.

Unfortunately, when he attempted to do so, it was only a cheap transformation.

"What? Aww..." said the wannabe ninja.

"You fail! Next time do your homework!" ordered the jonin teacher.

Naruto sighed.

"Darn it!" exclaimed Ruby. She was hoping that Naruto would pass for sure.

Why was she rooting for him, you ask? Well, she thought he was cute.

Naruto grumbled as he left the classroom. How many times was he going to fail?

On the other hand, he heard that someone by the name of Jaune wasn't doing well in school either. Maybe he needed to study a bit more.

That is not to say that there were students that weren't doing well however. Pyrrha was passing her tests with flying colors.

So, it surprised nobody when she managed to pass.

Likewise, Neji and Cardin passed with flying colors...only in their cases they chose to rub it in the other students' faces...even though most of them had passed as well.

Since he had failed once again, Naruto decided to go get some ramen. That ought to cheer him up.

They sure made some delicious ramen these days.

However, as he left the school, someone approached him.

"Psst! Naruto!" exclaimed a familiar voice.

"Can I help you?" asked Naruto.

"I know how you can become a genin!" shouted a ninja.

"Mizuki, is that you? You don't seem too popular around the ninja academy..." remarked Naruto.

"What have they been saying behind my back?" asked Mizuki.

"They're saying that you have an unquenchable thirst for power...and that you like tormenting small animals..." answered the genin.

Now that he thought of it, should he really be trusting Mizuki?

"Where did all those crazy rumors start?" asked Mizuki.

"Beats me." answered Naruto.

"Well, they're false! Anyways, I want you to bring me a shadow scroll...bring it to me, and you'll be a genin, no questions asked." answered Mizuki.

"Alright! I accept!" exclaimed the genin.

Mizuki handed Naruto a map of where the scroll was being held.

"Thanks!" answered the boy.

Now that he knew where the scroll was, he would be able to sneak in and grab the scroll.

However, he wondered if he should try reading the scroll himself.

 _Meanwhile back at the Ninja Academy..._

 _"_ Jaune Arc, you fail!" exclaimed the teacher.

"Awww..." said Jaune.

Hinata frowned. She was rooting for him. She had passed...but barely. At least hopefully now her father would show her some respect. Unfortunately, she doubted that she was going to become his heir.

Well, it looked like Jaune Arc was going to have to try again next year.

Frustrated, Jaune Arc decided to go to a dust shop so he could relax. Maybe there was a magazine that he could enjoy.

Unfortunately for him, there was a robber on the loose. He had been plotting this robbery for a while.

Leading them was notorious criminal Roman Torchwick.

"Let's do this..." said Roman Torchwick.

 _Meanwhile..._

On the way to the hidden temple, Naruto decided that he was going to doodle on the Hokage Monument. It was so much fun.

And yet for some strange reason, he felt guilty when he doodled on the Fourth Hokage's face. He didn't know why.

Oh well. Maybe he would simply skip that one.

Now that he was done, it was time to break into the hidden temple.

Only problem was, how was he going to get inside? It was likely to be heavily guarded.

Oh wait, it seemed that the guards were on lunch break at the moment.

It looked like today was his lucky day.

Carefully tiptoeing, Naruto made his way towards the scroll.

There was a label on it saying "PLEASE DO NOT STEAL".

Naruto pulled out a marker and crossed out DO NOT.

"Hee hee hee hee!" thought Naruto.

Immediately, he took the scroll and left the temple.

However, as he did so, he sounded the alarm.

"Dang it! I'm going to get busted!" exclaimed Naruto.

Fortunately, nobody showed up.

"Oh wait, that's right. The guards were on lunch break!" shouted the wannabe ninja.

It looked like today was his lucky day.

Immediately, he took the scroll and leapt out of the temple.

Now that he had the scroll, all he had to do was wait for Mizuki to show up so he could graduate.

Little did he knew that he was being used.

However, curiosity was starting to set in.

"Hmm...should I read this or shouldn't I? It is kind of...forbidden." noted Naruto.

On the other hand, he hasn't been known to follow rules. He proved that when he TPed the Third Hokage's house.

"Oh, what the heck! I'll just read a little bit of it..." said the genin.

And so, he decided to break the rules further...but just a tad.

 _Meanwhile..._

"These magazines are really awesome..." noted Jaune. No wonder the shopkeeper was selling them.

Suddenly, someone burst down the door.

The shopkeeper gasped in shock.

"Alright, this is a robbery. Nobody move!" exclaimed Roman Torchwick.

Jaune's eyes widened in surprise. It was just his luck, wasn't it. He decided to step into a dust store and someone was trying to steal it.

It looked like he was going to have to make a getaway.

Now, he could either carefully sneak his way out of the building so that he wouldn't get spotted...or he could panic and run out of the building screaming.

He chose the latter.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" exclaimed Jaune.

Frantically, Jaune ran away screaming.

"Hey, where do you think you're-"

Jaune crashed into one of the hired thugs, knocking him out cold.

"Crap! He took out Frankie!" exclaimed another one of the mobsters.

"Get him!" screamed yet another mobster.

Immediately, the mobsters proceeded to attack Jaune, who frantically attempted to defend himself with his shield.

Fortunately, he managed to stab another one of the thugs with his sword.

"Ow! Why you..." said the mobster.

Unfortunately for another two of the thugs, Jaune knocked a shelf full of dust on top of them, which knocked them out cold.

"Damn it! This robbery is not going well at all..." answered Roman Torchwick. And to think that this ninja hadn't even graduated from the academy.

Maybe he should enter the fray.

He decided to take a shot from his cane at Jaune while he was occupied dealing with the last two thugs.

However, Jaune moved out of the way at the last second...and he ended up knocking them down.

Frustrated, he stamped his foot in the ground.

"Do I have to deal with you by myself?" asked Roman.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps.

Roman sighed. It looked like someone was coming to arrest him.

"Fine, you win! But this won't be the last you'll see of me! I've got plenty more dust to steal!" exclaimed Roman.

Roman Torchwick climbed to the roof, where a cruiser was waiting.

"He's a slippery fellow, isn't he?" noted Jaune.

For some strange reason, it seemed like there was a lady on the cruiser, but he couldn't quite tell who.

Roman Torchwick grabbed onto a ladder and made a clean getaway.

"Well, it looks like he's not going to be arrested tonight. But at least I'm safe..." noted Jaune.

Suddenly, a familiar ninja appeared.

"Did you just thwart that dust robbery?" questioned Ebisu.

"To be honest, I was just trying to leave so that I could warn the other ninja...I don't know what happened..." answered the warrior.

"Congratulations! You pass!" exclaimed the jonin.

"What?!" shouted Jaune.

"Consider yourself a ninja genin...well, if you manage to pass the jonin test, of course. That always seems to block some people from becoming genin..." noted Ebisu.

Fortunately, he knew someone who wasn't a sink or swim mentor...she would be a good mentor for him.

Of course, she was interested in making a scouting team, so perhaps Jaune wouldn't be on the front lines. He would probably appreciate that.

 _Meanwhile..._

"What do you mean the scroll has been stolen?" asked Iruka.

"I knew we were in trouble the moment the guards decided to take a day off..." remarked the Third Hokage.

For some strange reason, the Third Hokage had decided to resume his position even after he retired. This was because the Fourth Hokage was deceased. He thought he should sacrifice himself along with his wife in order to save the Leaf Village.

Well, it looked like he was going to have to retire some other time. Maybe he could find a Fifth Hokage. The only problem was...who should he choose?

Of course, there was a boy who would LOVE to be Hokage...but he wasn't ready for that yet. That boy happened to be his grandson.

"Who could have done this?" inquired the ninja.

"Well, they did leave some ramen at the crime scene..." noted Hiruzen.

"Ramen? Wait a minute..." answered Iruka.

All of a sudden, he knew who the culprit was.

He immediately went to search for him.

As it turned out, he was sitting on a chair, waiting for Mizuki to show up.

"When is he going to show up?" asked Naruto.

He said that he wouldn't be long.

At that very moment, Iruka showed up.

"Hi, Iruka-sensei!" exclaimed Naruto.

"You're in a lot of trouble, young man." answered Iruka.

"Huh? All I did was steal a piece of paper..." questioned the boy.

"That's no piece of paper, Naruto! That's a forbidden scroll! You need to return it immediately!" ordered the chunin.

"But Mizuki said that if I gave it to him, I'd get to be a ninja! I'm just dying to be one after all my failures at the ninja academy..." remarked Naruto.

"Mizuki told you about the scroll? Wait a minute..." stated Iruka.

"It's too late!" exclaimed Mizuki.

"What?!" shouted Iruka.

Mizuki picked up a shuriken and stabbed Iruka in the leg.

"Gah!" screamed the unfortunate chunin.

"Alright then, Naruto. Give me the scroll and nobody has to get hurt..." said Mizuki.

"But someone already got hurt! It was Iruka!" exclaimed Naruto.

Mizuki sighed. Naruto did have a point.

"Alright, Naruto. Give me the scroll and nobody else has to get hurt..." answered the chunin.

"But I want to keep reading it!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Give it to me!" shouted Mizuki.

"But I want people to respect me!" shouted the blonde.

"People are never going to respect you! And you know why? Because you're the nine-tails jinchuriki!" exclaimed the chunin.

"No, Mizuki, no! We're supposed to keep that under wraps...of course, we were supposed to keep the forbidden scroll under wraps too but we did a terrible job in the end..." noted Iruka.

"The nine-tails what?!" shouted Naruto.

"Have you ever wondered why people have always hated you? It's because you have a monster living inside you...the same monster that destroyed our village!" exclaimed Mizuki.

"Aw man..." shouted the ninja. He was the most unfortunate ninja ever. First he doesn't get to know his own parents, and now he learns that they sealed inside a monster that if released, would be the end of the world as they knew it.

Well, maybe not the world. But definitely the end of the Leaf Village. And to think that the Uchiha Clan was already wiped out. What happened to them?

"Now then, give me the scroll and you can go h-"

Suddenly, Naruto summoned a bunch of clones.

"Huh?" asked Mizuki.

"I managed to learn how to make shadow clones? Nifty, huh!" exclaimed Naruto.

Immediately, Naruto put the scroll away in his backpack and began to run along with his clones.

Mizuki sighed. How was he going to get the scroll when there were so many clones running in different directions? He couldn't tell which one had the scroll at all.

This was going to take forever.

Still, if he could learn all the forbidden techniques inside the scroll, it would be totally worth it.

So, he decided to chase the ninjas.

"Naruto, please don't die..." thought Iruka. Who would have thought that Mizuki was a psychopath?

Oh wait, that was right. He was burning ants with a magnifying glass last week.

Well, he was a horrible judge of character.

As Naruto attempted to avoid being caught by Mizuki (who hadn't listened to his mother growing up), he suddenly remembered what Mizuki had taught him.

Was it true? Was there really a nine-tailed fox living inside him? Was it some sort of twisted abomination?

That would explain why people were treating him so bad.

"Oh god...I'm a monster!" exclaimed Naruto.

Naruto started to cry.

At that very moment, Ruby showed up.

"Nothing like a good nighttime jog..." remarked Ruby.

Suddenly, he noticed Naruto crying in a corner.

"Hey, what's the matter?" asked the huntress.

"I'm a monster!" exclaimed Naruto.

"No, you're not. You're a human being!" exclaimed Ruby.

"But I am! I've got a nine-tailed fox living inside me!" bellowed the ninja.

"You've got a nine-tailed fox living inside you?" asked the girl.

"Uh-huh! I'm an outrage against nature!" exclaimed Naruto.

"No you're not!" answered Ruby.

Naruto stopped crying. At least someone didn't hate him for being a jinchuuriki.

At that very moment, Mizuki showed up.

"There you are! Do you know how hard it was to single you out from all your clones? I had a bunch of smoke explode in my face!" exclaimed Mizuki.

Mizuki let out a cough.

"No matter. I've finally found you...and I'm going to take that scroll even if I have to slit your throat for it!" bellowed the chunin.

"Leave him alone!" ordered Ruby.

"Why are you defending him? He's a freaking monster!" exclaimed Mizuki.

"No he's not! He's just got a monster sealed inside him, that's all! That's no reason to treat him differently!" shouted the kunoichi.

Naruto was surprised at what Ruby was saying. Perhaps not everyone hated him at all.

"Fine! If you're going to defend him, I'll just have to kill you too!" shouted Mizuki.

Immediately, Mizuki charged towards the two.

But unfortunately for Mizuki, Ruby brought her scythe with her.

She proceeded to start attacking Mizuki with her scythe. And unfortunately for him, she was pretty fast.

"Aaugh!" exclaimed Mizuki.

Deciding to join in, Naruto decided to create some more clones. Fortunately, he still had some chakra left.

They proceeded to start pummeling Mizuki with their fists.

Within a few minutes, Mizuki was KOed.

"We sure gave him a beating, didn't we?" questioned Naruto.

"Yeah, we sure did. That's going to hurt in the morning, and in the morning after that...anyways, thanks for helping me out...but which one is the real you?" inquired Ruby.

Naruto waved and his clones disappeared.

"There we go..." said Ruby.

Naruto was shocked to learn the truth that he was a jinchuriki and that he had a monster living inside him...

...but since someone was willing to provide him support, perhaps his life wouldn't be so bad after all.

Maybe he didn't need to pull pranks anymore...

...well, things were finally looking up for him.

 _Hooray! Naruto's finally made a friend! Well, he already had a friend in Iruka and Hinata in canon...anyways, you can probably guess what's going to be in the next chapter._

 _And yes, Naruto and Ruby will be on the same team. I feel like shipping the two together. However, I'm not going to spoil whose going to be on which team just yet._

 _See you later!_


	2. Chapter 2: Sink Or Swim

_In this chapter, we're going to see who Naruto and Ruby get to have as their sensei. Oh wait, you probably know already. Well, you'll also get to see who their teammates are...oh wait, you probably know that already too._

 _Unfortunately, their sensei is a sink or swim mentor. He's not going to pass them unless they're up to his standards...and his standards are fairly high. It's unfortunately, really. At least Kurenai is lenient. She's going to take Hinata in just like she did in canon...and someone else._

 **Chapter 2: Sink Or Swim**

The following day after Naruto had kicked the butt of Mizuki, he suddenly received a message.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

"Dear Naruto, congratulations! You have graduated from the ninja academy! And yes, we know that we said that you failed earlier...but that was before you summoned a horde of clones like you did just now. Please go to the ninja academy for your jonin instructor test. Sincerely, your pal Iruka."

P.S.: I don't know if you know this already, but we are a LOT alike.

"Yes! I did it! And Iruka cares!" exclaimed Naruto.

He was going to have to thank Iruka for this, and Ruby too. He really appreciated her help, and that she didn't think of him of a monster simply because there was one living inside him.

The only question now was who were going to be his teammates. It could be anyone.

Several students he recognized were waiting to be assigned to a team. Unsurprisingly, Nora and Ren were sitting together since they were close. Likewise, Jaune was sitting next to Hinata.

As for himself, he decided to sit next to Ruby. She was the only one that didn't seem afraid of him.

Well, there was Yang but she didn't seem afraid of anything. She was sitting next to her sister.

Sasuke seemed to want to distance himself from the other students. He didn't like socializing apparently.

Likewise, Blake didn't seem interested in sitting next to the other students as well. Oh wait, she was sitting next to Hinata.

Shikamaru was currently snoring.

"Why does he keep sleeping?" asked Ino.

Choji shrugged. He'd been like that ever since he first met him.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, and Sasuke Uchiha, you are Team NRSY! Your sensei shall be Kakashi Hatake." exclaimed Iruka.

Naruto, Ruby, and Yang cheered. They were going to be with their friends and family.

However, Sasuke didn't seem to care what team he was on. Maybe he was a lone wolf.

"Jaune Arc, Hinata Hyuga, Blake Belladonna, and Kiba Inuzaka, you are Team JHAK! Your sensei shall be Kurenai Yuki." said the sensei.

Blake Belladonna wondered why she was being paired up with a boy who had a dog. Was life playing a cruel joke on her?

Akamaru began to bark.

"What is it, Akamaru?" asked Kiba. For some strange reason, Blake reminded him of a cat...but he didn't know why.

"Weiss Schnee, Sakura Haruno, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuga, you are Team Guy! And yes, we're not using first and last name letters to determine your team name. Might Guy decided to name the team after himself. I guess he's arrogant like that." noted Iruka.

Sakura shrugged.

Rock Lee cheered. He was Might Guy's number one fan.

Weiss Schnee noted that her father hadn't been happy when she decided to become a ninja. Then again, she had become rebellious due to how controlling he was of her. She WAS not a piece of property.

Neji Hyuga didn't see why he needed a team. He felt like he could do missions all by himself.

But for some strange reason, they didn't seem to encourage that. They apparently thought that they should work as a team.

"Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka, you are team SINR! And yes, it sounds like "sinner." I don't think Asuma Sarutobi thought that one out...anyways, as you can probably tell by what I just said, he's going to be your sensei." said Iruka.

"Yes!" exclaimed Nora. She and Ren were going to be on the same team. She was so happy.

Shikamaru was disappointed that Choji wasn't going to be on the same team as he was...but at least Lie Ren would probably make for a good friend. Something told him that they had a lot in common.

On the other hand, Nora and Ino would probably get on his nerves...not that he was sexist or anything like that. If anything it should be HIM who stayed in the kitchen while his wife went to work. Sure, it may not seem masculine, but that was his lifestyle.

"Pyrrha Nikos, Cardin Winchester, Sun Wukong, and Neptune Vasilias, you are team PWNS...and yes, it sounds like "pwns." We don't know why it turned out that way. Your sensei shall be Professor Port." remarked Iruka.

Now all that was left was Shino, Choji, Tenten, and Sai.

"Shino Abarume, Choji Akimichi, Tenten and Sai...hmm, we can't seem to remember the last names of Tenten and Sai...anyways, you're part of Team ACTs. Your sensei is Doctor Oobleck...phew, we have a lot of students to team up..." noted the chunin instructor.

Shino and Choji nodded in agreement.

 _A few hours later..._

"So, it looks like Kakashi is going to be our sensei...I wonder what our test is going to be." remarked Naruto.

"Beats me." answered Ruby.

Suddenly, her stomach began to grumble.

"Gee, I'm feeling hungry..." noted the girl.

Shortly afterwards, she received a call from her scroll.

Apparently, they were going outside for their test.

"Come on! We don't want to keep him waiting!" exclaimed Yang.

"I know for one that I'm going to pass this test. I'm one of the best students at the academy." remarked Sasuke.

"You sure about that?" asked Naruto.

"You on the other hand, had one of the lowest scores at the academy." noted the Uchiha clan member.

"Awww..." said the genin.

Sure enough, Kakashi was waiting for them. And for some strange reason, he was carrying food.

"Right...you're probably wondering what the test is going to be...well, it's rather simple. Your mission is to collect some bells so that you can have something to eat...the only problem is, there's only three of them. One of you is going to miss out." remarked Kakashi.

The four nodded. That seemed easy enough.

Ruby charged first, since she was hoping to eat some cookies.

However, Kakashi was too fast...even for her.

"Dang it! I want cookies!" exclaimed Ruby.

Naruto attacked next, creating a horde of shadow clones to grab the bell. Kakashi had ramen.

However, Kakashi effortlessly destroyed them all.

"This is an uphill battle..." noted Naruto.

Next up was Yang, who charged towards Kakashi.

However, she ended up being caught in a genjutsu.

"Why does my head feel so funny?" questioned Yang.

Suddenly, she noticed that Sasuke was there...in his underpants.

"Dang! He's hot...I must be dreaming..." noted the blonde.

Oh wait, that was right. She was caught in a genjutsu.

"I know I should probably be looking for a way to escape...but to be honest, I kind of don't want to..." remarked Yang.

The last person to fight against Kakashi was Sasuke. Compared to the rest of them, he was doing surprisingly well.

In particular, he was able to use fire jutsu rather well...even though technically speaking lightning was his portfolio. Then again, he was from the Uchiha clan, who were part of the Land Of Fire.

It shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone, really.

Even so, it appeared that he was outmatched by him.

Kakashi grabbed onto Sasuke and buried him in the sand.

At that very moment, Ruby noticed that her sister seemed to be in a some sort of trance.

"Yang, wake up!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Huh? What?" questioned Yang.

"We're getting clobbered out here! We need your help!" shouted the girl.

"But I want something to eat..." complained the blonde.

"We can worry about that later! We're not going to pass this test if we don't work together!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Hey, what's the matter?" asked Naruto.

"We need to come up with a plan! We're not going to get those bells otherwise!" commanded the girl.

"You're probably right...I sure want some ramen though..." noted the jinchuriki.

"There are three bells, right? If we work together, he doesn't stand a chance!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Yeah...but what about Sasuke?" asked Yang.

"Do you need some help?" inquired the student.

"I don't need your help!" exclaimed Sasuke.

"You sure?" inquired the blonde.

"Yes!" shouted the Uchiha clan member.

Yang shrugged. If he didn't want to work with his teammates, then who was she to judge?

Still, she wished that he would give them a helping hand.

Well, it looked like they were going to have take on Kakashi without him.

Currently, he was sitting on a rock reading a book. He sighed.

It looked like once again his students weren't willing to work together. How could they be so selfish? And for what...so they could have a snack? It wasn't even that nutritious.

Suddenly, he heard yelling.

"Huh?" asked Kakashi.

"Yaahhhhhhhhh!" shouted Ruby.

"Let's get him!" exclaimed Naruto.

"You're not holding food from us!" bellowed Yang.

He discovered that Ruby, Naruto, and Yang were all charging at him.

He instantly applauded.

"Bravo, bravo! I thought I would never live to see the day!" exclaimed Kakashi.

"What?" asked Naruto.

"I wanted to see if you four would work together...and you did. You pass." remarked the jonin.

"But Sasuke didn't work with us..." pointed out Ruby.

"Wait, he didn't?" questioned Kakashi.

"Yeah...he said that he didn't need our help..." answered Yang.

"Alright then...there's something I want him to see..." said Kakashi.

Immediately, Kakashi went towards Sasuke and picked him up, releasing him from the earth.

"Sasuke, come with me. We've got some things to discuss." stated the jonin.

"Huh?" questioned Sasuke.

Immediately, he took Sasuke to a nearby shrine...which was dedicated to several ninjas that had been killed in action.

"See that? This is what happens when a ninja decides to put themselves ahead of their squad...they get both themselves AND their teammates killed..." explained Kakashi.

Sasuke gasped in shock.

"I assume you don't want to have your name marked on that, am I right? Of course, sometimes you do get killed even when you do work with your teammates...but at least you can rest in peace knowing that you were there for your teammates." noted the jonin.

Sasuke nodded.

"Good. This isn't a world that's all about you. In case you haven't noticed, the world is filled with Grimm, which as you know are creatures of darkness. If you charge at them head on, it's a good way to get you killed. Even the weakest Grimm are a threat to ordinary people. That's why we have to work with others so that we can protect the innocent." explained Kakashi.

Sasuke admitted to himself that he had been selfish.

"Alright then. I think you've learned your lesson. Since I don't want your teammates to be short one ninja, you pass. But for now you won't be doing anything that's too dangerous. If I sent you on a S-Class mission, you would come back in caskets, am I right?" questioned the jonin.

Sasuke nodded. That would be pretty foolish.

"I wish that Grimms were only creatures that people told you about to scare you in bedtime stories, but I'm afraid that isn't the case. We don't know much about them...but from what we do know about them, they're determined to exterminate all life. We're not going to let that happen." remarked Kakashi.

Sasuke agreed.

"Now that that's settled, why don't you go back to your teammates? I'm sure that they'll appreciate it if you gave them a helping hand on some D-Class missions...maybe when we're ready we'll take on a C-class mission. Once the deadline arrives, you might be ready to take on the Chunin Exams. Then again, it might take some time for you to pass. They only let twelve students pass in six months...though they might change that if more genin arrive in the Leaf Village..." advised the jonin.

Sasuke nodded once again. He still wanted revenge on his brother though. The sooner he became strong enough to take him on, the better. Hopefully some D-class missions would make his life a lot easier.

Immediately, he returned to his teammates.

"Did you pass? I think you disappointed our sensei..." said Naruto.

"Yes...after a stern talking to. Seems that I need to work with my teammates to avoid being killed..." noted Sasuke.

"Yeah...to be fair, I've been known to charge into situations without thinking..." noted Ruby.

 _During a trip to the pool..._

"Hey, Yang! I'm going to dive into the shallow end of the pool!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Ruby, that's not safe!" warned Yang.

"Here I go!" shouted the teenage girl.

CRASH!

"Ow!" bellowed Ruby.

 _Back to the present...(no, not the future)_

"Ready to do some labor?" questioned Naruto.

"Yeah...though to be honest, I think it's going to be rather boring. I'd rather fight some Grimm..." noted Yang.

"We'll have our chance." remarked Ruby.

Sasuke noted that if it were the Grimm that wiped out his clan, getting revenge on them would be that much easier. Even killing one Grimm would feel rather satisfying.

But as it was, the Grimm weren't responsible for his clan's annihilation. It was his brother Itachi Uchiha. He wondered to this day why he would do something so horrible, wiping out his own clan form the inside.

Perhaps he wanted the Mangekyo Sharingan. They say that if you killed someone that was dear to you, you would obtain it.

Maybe he felt that his clan didn't respect him for his skills.

"Why does it matter?" thought Sasuke. He decided that he was going to simply get revenge and not think about why his brother would do such a thing.

 _Meanwhile..._

"You are so adorable! Yes, you are! Yes, you are!" exclaimed Jaune.

"Arf! Arf!" exclaimed Akamaru.

As it turned out, Jaune was holding on to Akamaru. He was so glad that he was on the same team.

Blake didn't seem so enthusiastic though for some strange reason. Every time Akamaru noticed Blake, he barked for some strange reason.

At least he wasn't growling at her.

"Are you trying to tell me something, Akamaru?" asked Kiba.

"It's nothing! Really!" exclaimed Blake.

Akamaru frowned. It was something that Kiba would like to know.

"Thanks for helping me pass your test...I don't think I have what it takes to be a ninja..." noted Hinata.

"I'm starting to wonder that myself..." answered Jaune.

"But you thwarted that dust robbery!" exclaimed Kurenai.

"I didn't mean to..." stated the blonde. To be honest, he just wanted to cut and run. He didn't expect to take out Roman's men...though to be fair Roman took down two of them himself by accident.

"I think you two need to believe in yourselves..." noted the jonin kunoichi.

Hinata sighed. For her, that was easier said than done. She never seemed to do anything right. That was why her father decided Hanabi Hyuga would be a better heir to the clan even though she was younger than she was.

Still, at least she could probably relate to Jaune. He didn't seem to do anything right either. He had seen Cardin bullying him during the ninja academy because of that. Apparently, he thought that he would make an easy target because he was wimpy.

"Why don't you try fighting the forces of darkness? You might believe in yourself that way...let's go Grimm hunting, shall we?" questioned Kurenai.

"Grimm hunting? Isn't that dangerous?" inquired Jaune.

"If anything happens, I'll show up and I'll rescue you. I usually stick with my students to make sure that they don't get hurt. Though to be fair the Grimm will probably retreat if they notice I'm there. They may seem mindless but they're actually pretty smart. If they encounter an opponent that's too strong for them, they'll likely bolt. Unless of course they happen to be young in which case they're rather impulsive and don't think things through." noted Kurenai.

"Yeah...that makes sense." remarked Hinata. She noted that the Third Hokage seemed incredibly powerful in his old age...perhaps all his experiences kept making him stronger.

Still, she was under the impression that he was no longer cut out to be a ninja after he retired. The death of the Fourth Hokage had brought him back...maybe they should find a Fifth Hokage? She noted that Naruto would LOVE being Hokage...but it probably wouldn't happen for a long time. Besides, being the Fifth Hokage meant that you had to protect your village. If you neglected your duties, the whole village would suffer for it. The First Hokage had made that mistake once and several ninja had died.

On the lighter side, he had learned from his experience so it didn't happen again.

Immediately, Team JHAK set out to hunt some Grimm. Of course, they could smell fear, so they would probably be attracted to Jaune and Hinata...no, not like that.

Hopefully Kurenai was right and they would be fine.

 _Before you ask, yes, I will feature Grimm in these stories. Maybe not right now though...this is both a Naruto and a RWBY fanfic so it won't be all about them._


	3. Chapter 3: Grimm Hunting

_In this chapter, we're going to feature some Grimm. Elsewhere, Naruto's going on a trip to the Land Of Waves. Unfortunately, it seems that it's a suicide mission for a ninja of his level. But given that he's the main protagonist along with Ruby, he'll survive...right?_

 _Since we have a lot of characters, I suppose I should start giving them screen time..._

 **Chapter 3: Grimm Hunting**

"We're going to be hunting Grimm?" questioned Jaune.

"Yes...if we do it often enough, the Grimm population will decrease...and then we'll be safe." nodded Kurenai.

"You think we can do it?" inquired the hunter.

"Any hunter should be able to pull it off...we'll stay close to town to make sure we don't encounter any strong ones..." explained the jonin.

Hinata nodded.

"Why don't you use your Byakugan to see if you can look for them? It'd be a wise idea to make sure that we know where they are first." suggested Kurenai.

Hinata agreed. That would be a good idea...though she could never seem to use her Byakugan for long. Her father was disappointed with her because of that.

Sure enough, she found a Beowulf lurking behind a tree. It was sniffing for humans so that it could kill them in horrible ways.

Fortunately, a lone Beowulf was not much of a threat. It raised the question as to why it was alone in the first place.

"There's one!" exclaimed Hinata.

Curiously, it seemed that the Grimms consisted of evil chakra. Who was making them? Whoever it was, she wished that they would stop. She wondered where the Grimm were originating from. Likely a place that she wouldn't go anywhere near, that was for sure.

"Why don't you attack it then?" suggested Kurenai.

Hinata nervously approached the Beowulf.

It didn't notice her.

Hesitantly, she gave it a Gentle Fist attack.

The Beowulf burst into darkness.

Hinata was surprised with herself.

"Good job." said the jonin.

"Thanks..." stated Hinata. Fighting all those Grimm made her nervous.

At that very moment, an Ursa showed up. As soon as it saw Jaune, it began to growl. It certainly didn't seem too fond of humans.

Slowly, it began to approach him. Fortunately, despite it clearly showing contempt for the human race, it didn't seem too excited about chasing Jaune.

"Your turn, Jaune." said Kurenai.

Jaune nodded, and he slashed the Ursa in the face with his sword.

The Ursa perished. Jaune was surprised that he managed to pull it off.

"I think we might be getting the hang of this..." noted Jaune.

"Yes...just stay close to Konoha. The further we get away from civilization, the stronger the Grimm become...and since you're genin at the moment, that's something you should think about." warned Kurenai.

Blake nodded. Fortunately, though they were genin, they happened to be good fighters.

Akamaru let out a bark.

As it turned out, he had spotted another Grimm.

This time, they had encountered a Bagheerah...which you could imagine was a cat-like Grimm. It had sharp claws that you did not want to enter your skin.

"There are Grimms that are cats? I find that ironic..." noted Blake. Of course, cats always seemed to fight each other in turf wars.

Curiously, the Bagheerah didn't seem interested in attacking Akamaru.

"Wait, why isn't it attacking Akamaru?" inquired the cat kunoichi.

"The Grimm haven't been interested in attacking animals..." explained Kurenai. It was an interesting trait about them. Unless the animals decided to disrespect them by invading their territory, the Grimm left them be.

On the other hand, they had been known to both attack humans and Faunus. They didn't discriminate between them...unlike humans that were racist towards Faunus, for instance.

Kiba decided to take care of this one.

He started clawing at the Bagheerah, causing it to screech. Was he a human or a beast?

Akamaru followed by biting the Bagheerah on the neck, causing it to burst into dark chakra.

He then returned to his owner, satisfied with his kill.

"I wonder which Grimm I should take on..." questioned Blake.

At that very moment, a Nevermore showed up. Fortunately, it wasn't a big ones.

"I'm a cat Faunus hunting a bird? I think life is playing a joke on me...well, I suppose I'm the best person for this task." remarked Blake.

Blake stealthily crawled towards the Faunus. Kiba noted that she was good at sneaking. Putting her on the team was a good idea even if Akamaru kept barking at her for some strange reason.

Blake pounced on the Nevermore and hit it with her Gambol Shroud.

The Nevermore never knew what hit it before it knew no more...and yes, the author thought this would be amusing.

"Very good. Keep this up, and we'll be able to take on hordes of Grimm. I prefer scouting missions however." noted Kurenai.

"Aren't you a good fighter?" inquired Jaune. Perhaps her talents would be better used for fighting instead of spying. She better not spy on male jonin while they were in the shower.

"I am...I just believe surveillance will help prevent us from surprise attacks from Grimm...and whatever ninjas decide to attack the Leaf Village...we don't always live in peace with the other nations, unfortunately." noted Kurenai. Who knows what conspiracy was lurking at their door?

"You make a good point." nodded Hinata. Fortunately, it seemed that Konoha was rather peaceful. Grimm didn't seem to want to step foot near the place. They didn't seem to like peace and happiness.

So long as Konoha remained peaceful, they didn't have to worry about the Grimm invading Konoha. It was a good thing that they had jonin protecting them. Each one was as powerful as a Grimm army...excluding the stronger ones such as Death Stalkers and Griffons.

Jaune wondered if Grimm were responsible for the extinction of the Uchiha clan. The Grimm had a tendency to separate the strong from the weak sometimes. He got the feeling that it was an inside job though.

A few Beowulves appeared. Together, they attacked them and they burst into darkness.

"Very good. We should go on Grimm hunting missions like this. The Inuzaka Clan in particular are known for being good at hunting Grimm...in case you were wondering." remarked Kurenai.

Kiba nodded. He may be a genin but that didn't mean that he was bad at hunting Grimm. It would take time before he could hunt powerful Grimm like the rest of his clan though. Those were best for the professionals.

It was good that these Grimm were young...because elderly Grimm were pretty powerful indeed. It seemed instead of dying from natural causes, the Grimm simply kept on getting stronger and stronger.

Of course, the Third Hokage was an elderly man and it seemed that he was ridiculously strong, stronger than the leader of his clan, even.

Maybe when they were jonin they would be able to reduce the Grimm population drastically. But for now, it seemed like they could only slow them down slightly. At least they had graduated from the ninja academy so that they could fight Grimm in the first place.

"I wonder how my cousin Neji is doing..." said Hinata.

 _Meanwhile..._

Part of Neji wondered why he needed a team. He was confident in his own abilities. Personally he thought that he could go on C-Rank Missions by himself regardless of the fact that he would inevitably face several thugs and bandits that wanted to beat him up.

To be fair, he was a member of the branch house, so he was expected to be a servant instead of a master. Personally he wished that he was part of the main house so that he could have access to their top-secret techniques.

Well, it was not to be. Besides, he knew how to seal off his opponent's chakra points, so he didn't have to worry too much about them using their special techniques.

Currently, Neji was hitting a dummy. He wanted a better test of his skills though. Personally he felt that he already had what it took to become a jonin.

Might Guy was happy that they had managed to pass his test so that he could train them. Rock Lee was a fan of his so he decided to include him on the same team. Unfortunately, he had only half the chakra points of an average ninja, so using ninjutsu and genjutsu wasn't exactly his forte.

Taijutsu certainly was though.

Unfortunately, it seemed that he couldn't beat Neji in a fight. It was kind of sad. Neji liked to rub it in his face.

Currently, Might Guy was waiting for Sakura and Weiss to show up.

At that very moment, Weiss showed up...

...and Rock Lee crashed into her.

"Watch where you're going! I'm carrying highly explosive dust!" exclaimed Weiss. Did Rock Lee want to explode?

Hearts began to appear around Rock Lee's face.

"Yoo-hoo! Are you there?" asked Weiss.

Weiss sighed. It seemed that Rock Lee was lovesick.

At that very moment, Sakura showed up.

"Are you alright, Rock Lee?" asked Sakura. He was acting strange.

Rock Lee shook his head.

"What? I'm fine." nodded Rock Lee.

"Good, now we can start training." said Sakura.

Sakura and Rock Lee both started hitting a dummy.

Likewise, Weiss began to practice using her sword, using it to chop down a tree branch. Her father had wanted her to be a heiress to his dust company instead of a ninja, but she had decided not to listen to him. She and her father weren't the best of friends. Her father seemed so cold and distant...even if he did want to keep Weiss close to him.

"Keep it up, and you'll be ready for the Chunin Exams in no time." remarked Might Guy.

Rock Lee saluted Might Guy with respect.

He sure hoped that the other genin could bond with their jonin teachers the way that he had bonded with Might Guy. They even looked the same...it was as if they were father and son.

Of course, his real father wasn't a jonin. He wasn't even a ninja. Perhaps this was why he had trouble at the ninja academy...he didn't have anyone to teach him the basics about being a ninja.

Speaking of other ninja teams, he heard that Asuma Sarutobi was teaching some genin.

Currently, Ino was rolling her eyes. Her teammates were getting on her nerves.

Shikamaru was currently taking a snooze, Nora was running around without stopping to catch her breath at all, and Ren was simply standing there without doing anything.

She wondered what she had done to deserve being on this team. Then again, she had broken up their friendship with Sakura simply because they were both after the same guy. That wasn't a smart thing to do yet Ino had done it anyway. Now people were going to start calling her a "dumb blonde".

"Why do I have to be part of THIS team?" questioned Ino.

"They all managed to pass my test...so I'm teaching them." said Asuma.

"I'm starting to think that your standards are low..." answered the blonde.

"Would you rather be on Kakashi's team? It seems like he fails everyone...up until now that is." explained the jonin.

"Touche." remarked Ino. Maybe she shouldn't be complaining.

Still, she wondered if her teammates were going to end up getting her killed during a mission. Hopefully her funeral would be awesome...though she was worried that Sakura would seize her opportunity to have Sasuke for herself if that happened. He was such a ladies' man...and yet, he didn't seem interested in flirting with girls. Maybe he was...

...no, she perished the thought. It couldn't possibly be true.

Personally she wished that she was on the team that had Pyrrha on it. She heard that she was a star student.

Speaking of Pyrrha, her team was doing pretty well on their missions. For some strange reason, their team didn't contain any characters from Naruto. Oh well.

However, people didn't seem to like Cardin Winchester. He demanded high prices whenever he did chores for someone else...which in the world of ninja were D Rank Missions.

When they refused to pay him, things got ugly.

On the other hand, Sun and Neptune were respected by their team...even if they were only going after people that had committed minor crimes such as leaving a candy wrapper on the sidewalk.

They had caught Nora making off with pancakes from a pancake bakery...apparently she couldn't resist the delicious taste. However, it turned out that Ren had paid for the pancakes so she was innocent. It had been embarrassing for them.

Personally, Professor Port got the feeling that Pyrrha could probably go on a B-Rank Mission...but she wouldn't do that until she was a chunin.

On the other hand, her magnetism ability seemed rather situational. He wasn't sure how it would benefit her against the forces of Grimm. Grimm weren't made out of metal. Maybe she could go up against homicidal robots? You never knew when the Terminator was going to show up and start killing people.

"I wish that Cardin would stop being so demanding..." remarked Pyrrha. He had been like that back when he was at the ninja academy. Hopefully this wouldn't hinder the rest of her team.

Suddenly, she noticed Cardin approaching Choji, who was eating some potato chips.

"Mmm...these potato chips are delicious." remarked Choji.

Suddenly, Cardin took the potato chips from Choji.

"Hey!" exclaimed the Akimichi clan member.

"I'll be taking these!" shouted Cardin.

Pyrrha frowned. It looked like Cardin was being a food thief.

Cardin smirked as he ate the potato chips.

Choji began to cry.

Pyrrha sighed. He always went for the ones that he felt were open targets. At least he didn't seem interested in bullying her.

 _Meanwhile..._

"These D Rank Missions are boring...I wish that we could do a C-Rank Mission for a change..." noted Naruto.

"I'm starting to see your point..." remarked Yang. Surely they were capable of doing more than D-Rank Missions. They should at least be able to do missions that involved fighting.

At that very moment, Ruby came with a piece of paper.

"Hey everyone! I found a mission that we can do! It says here that a man named Tazuna is building a bridge...and that he needs protection from a bunch of mercenaries that want his head. It also says that it totally doesn't involve the demon of the mist and that he's not planning to chop his head off with his ridiculously huge sword. Sounds promising. Still, for some strange reason I get the feeling we should bring our sensei Kakashi just in case..." remarked Ruby.

"Whose the Demon Of The Mist?" inquired Sasuke.

"Well, the person who gave Konoha this mission says we don't have to worry about him...so I guess we should just help him out with his bridge project. I'm not sure why he would want to build a bridge, but if he wants construction work, why not give him a hand?" questioned Ruby.

Naruto nodded. He would be glad to help.

Yang and Sasuke nodded.

Together, they went to go look for Kakashi. Tazuna would be happy that they had accepted their request.

Little did they know what they were getting into...

 _Team NRSY is going on their first C-Rank Mission, which will turn out to be an A-Rank Mission. Are you ready to watch our favorite characters die? Eh, I'm just kidding...but they're going to be lucky to survive it. Those wicked ninja love trying to kill those poor kids. Personally I blame Gato because he sucks._

 _In the next chapter, Zabuza Momochi is going to be sent on an assassination mission...did we mention that he's a demon? Sort of._


	4. Chapter 4: C-Rank? Seriously?

_In this chapter, Team NRSY is going to go on a C-Rank Mission...the crazed catch? Let's just say that it REALLY shouldn't be a C-Rank Mission. It's more along the lines of...an A-Rank Mission. And yes, we don't know where Gato keeps getting these high-class ninja._

 _And yes, we're going to focus on characters other than them. I figure it would make for a more entertaining story than that. For example, I'm going to feature Roman Torchwick in this chapter._

 **Chapter 4: C-Rank?! Seriously?!**

"So, you went on a C-Rank Mission? I remember the first time I went on a mission...it involved a lot of fighting...thankfully, the opponents I fought weren't actually ninja...so I didn't have to worry too much about them." explained Kakashi.

"Great!" exclaimed Naruto.

"However, that would be different if you went on a B-Rank Mission...I suggest that you save those for when you become chunin..." stated the man.

Ruby nodded.

Immediately, the five of them went to visit Tazuna.

"You wished to help me with my bridge building project?" asked Tazuna.

"Sure! What do you need help with?" inquired Naruto.

"You see...there happen to be criminals after me...they don't want me to build a bridge...they say that they want their crime lord to keep ruling over the Land Of Waves..." explained the man.

"I see..." nodded Sasuke.

"Is it Roman Torchwick?" asked Ruby. He seemed to be causing a lot of trouble lately. Hopefully he would be arrested someday and then they could all celebrate.

Maybe some day they could take on a mission that involved apprehending him. However, she got the feeling that it would be a B-Rank Mission, which was not something that a genin should go on...at least, not unless they were experienced genin. Experienced jonin were sometimes sent on S-Rank Missions to her knowledge.

But as it was, she was still starting out, even if she was remarkably talented for a ninja of her age.

"No, that's a different crime lord...personally I think this one is actually worse than Roman Torchwick..." noted Tazuna. He would go to some nasty lengths to keep his criminal enterprise going. He hosted public executions.

"I say we go kick his ass!" exclaimed Yang. If they did that, it would make a world a better place.

Yang pounded her fists together.

"Before you do that, you'll need to escort me there first...I figured this would be a good hiding spot until someone came to assist me with my bridge building project..." explained Tazuna.

Naruto nodded.

"So, are you going to take my request?" asked the bridge builder. He was hoping that someone would accept his request sooner or later. Konoha did receive a lot of missions, hence the reason why they were starting to host the chunin exams more often than before.

"Yes!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Alright then. Let's get going, shall we?" asked Tazuna.

For some strange reason, Kakashi got the feeling that Tazuna was hiding something from them.

However, he wasn't quite sure what.

Taking a closer look at him, Kakashi noticed that Tazuna didn't seem too well off. Hopefully he would be able to pay for the mission once he successfully built the bridge. Unfortunately, it seemed that Konoha didn't do charity work too often.

For now, he was going to oblige to his request.

 _Meanwhile..._

Roman Torchwick was satisfied with how his dust robberies were going. Currently, he had crossed off several dust stores already. Ironically, even though he had been on that wanted list for quite some time, he still felt that his employer was more of a criminal than he was. She had done things that would make you unable to sleep at night in her quest for power.

He heard that she was going after the "Fall Maiden". Personally he thought that the Fall Maiden was little more than a fairy tale...but if she wanted to believe in fairy tales, she can go on ahead. He wasn't the type of person to believe in fairy tales though. Personally he thought that they were just made-up stories for children so that they can idealistic.

He didn't think that the world was a good place at all. He thought it was unsuitable for anyone but criminals like himself. That's why he became a crime lord in the first place...so that he could be on top.

However, technically speaking, he wasn't on top. He was working for someone else...though people assumed that he wasn't.

Unfortunately for him, his boss was a "under no circumstances are you to fail me" type of person. It was quite annoying. At least she happened to be sexy. She must have a lot of fanboys...at least, she probably wouldn't if she wasn't so evil.

However, he had been annoyed that someone had managed to thwart one of his robberies...even though that particular person hadn't even graduated from the ninja academy. It had been an embarrassment for him, and his employer had told him off for it.

What an annoying little brat. How dare he ruin his robbery at that store. It was going to be such a simple heist too.

At least he probably wouldn't see him again...right?

Anyways, it was time for him to move on. He had some work to do.

At that very moment, a White Fang member came in carrying a crate.

"We brought something for you." said the White Fang member.

"It better be something valuable then..." answered Roman Torchwick.

He decided to open it to see what was inside.

Sure enough, there was dust inside of the crate.

"Great...maybe now we can finally fill our quota. Why is she always so demanding?" questioned Roman Torchwick. It was getting on his nerves.

"If you think you have it bad, you should see how she managed to get the White Fang to join her in the first place..." noted the White Fang member. That was something that would haunt his nightmares...and yes, he worked with Adam Taurus for a living.

Personally, Roman Torchwick did not enjoy working with the White Fang. He knew for one that they hated humans with a vengeance...much like himself. And personally he would rather abuse animals rather than pet them...though technically speaking he wasn't a poacher.

Who was the leader of the White Fang, again? Oh that's right. His name was Adam Taurus.

Apparently, he thought terrorism was the solution to his problems. His crimes unnerved even him sometimes.

Sometimes he wondered why he agreed to work for Cinder Fall in the first place. Of course, at the time, he didn't know that she would be working with the White Fang. Personally he wished that she would work with someone else.

Well, for now, he was going to try to satisfy his employer.

Hopefully the rest of his robberies would go according to plan.

 _Outside of Konoha..._

No sooner had Naruto and his friends stepped outside the gates of Konoha that they came across some thugs.

"You're building a bridge? Sorry, can't let you do that..." answered one of the thugs.

"I guess there are people after you..." said Naruto.

"Just for the record, you have our support." answered Ruby.

One of the gangsters laughed.

"Wait, they're sending children to guard him? Don't make us laugh..." answered the thug.

"We'll see whose laughing when you get a taste of my scythe..." said the teenage girl.

"Huh?" asked a muscular looking thug.

Before the thugs could blink, Ruby charged towards them with her scythe.

She then started cutting at them with her weapon of choice.

"Aargh!" exclaimed the criminals.

"She's really strong for a genin..." remarked Kakashi. Seemed like she would be ready to go on B-Rank Missions soon.

Now that he thought of it, Ruby did always seem to get high test scores back when she was at the ninja academy. It seemed that she was naturally talented.

Of course, he would have to see how he fared off against other ninja first.

Naruto decided to pitch in as well, summoning many different clones.

"Attack!" exclaimed Naruto.

"What is with these kids?" asked one of the hired mercenaries.

"I don't know!" answered another one of the criminals.

Yang pitched in as well, beating the thugs with her bare hands.

Finally, Sasuke finished them off with a fireball technique.

"I cannot believe that we lost to a bunch of kids!" exclaimed the thugs.

"This reminds me of Scooby-Doo..." noted Naruto.

"I love that show!" exclaimed Ruby. Maybe when they got back from the mission she could watch it at home.

"Good job...I think we should be able to pass this C-Rank Mission..." spoke Kakashi.

Little did they know that things were going to be more complicated than that...

 _Meanwhile..._

"It's nice to be on the same team as someone like myself..." said Jaune.

"Yeah...I've suffered from a lack of confidence but I'm glad that Kurenai took me in..." answered Hinata. It was nice to know that there were ninja that were as inexperienced as she was.

"I'm glad that she took me in too..." answered the blonde. She was surprisingly lenient.

On the other hand, Asuma Sarutobi seemed interested in taking in students that were strong and smart...judging from the team that he had created.

"You think Naruto will do alright on his mission?" asked Hinata. She was a friend of his.

"I think so...it's just a C-Rank Mission, right?" inquired Jaune.

Hinata nodded.

 _Elsewhere..._

At his headquarters, Gato heard that Tazuna had gone to Konoha to seek for assistance.

No matter. He wasn't going to build a bridge on HIS watch.

Unfortunately, it seemed that sending ordinary thugs wasn't going to do the job. In fact, he heard that they had lost to a bunch of kids.

That was a big whopping disappoint to him.

Fortunately, he happened to have better help than that. He could send Zabuza to do the job, but he got the feeling that was his trump card...he shouldn't have to play it now.

He was going to send the Demon Brothers...and like Zabuza, they were from Kirigakure.

He decided to give them a phone call.

"How would you like to make some hard-earned cash?" asked Gato.

The Demon Brothers nodded.

"Who are we going after today?" asked Meizu.

"It's simple...you're going after a bridge builder by the name of Tazuna...if he succeeds, I won't be able to continue extorting money from the Land Of Waves...who needs the Land Of Waves, anyway?" inquired Gato.

"Aren't you going to make them go bankrupt?" asked Gozu.

"As I said, who cares about the Land Of Waves?" questioned the man.

"If you insist..." said Meizu.

Immediately, the two brothers set out to go deal with the bridge builder. Maybe when he was dead Gato would finally leave the Land Of Waves alone.

Personally they wished that they could be jonin like Zabuza. He was pretty cool.

Together, the two of them set out to go assassinate the bridge builder.

 _Meanwhile..._

As usual, Shikamaru was playing shogi with Asuma Sarutobi.

Once again, Asuma Sarutobi found that he was losing.

For some strange reason, Shikamaru kept beating him whenever they played. It was fun but he wished that he wouldn't lose all the time.

Suddenly, Nora showed up.

Curious, she wondered what game they were playing.

"What are you guys doing?" asked Nora.

"We're playing shogi..." explained Shikamaru.

For some strange reason, Nora was as energetic as he was. Perhaps this was why they were on the same team.

"Shogi, eh? Are there rooks?" inquired the girl.

Asuma nodded.

Nora picked up one of the rooks.

A wide smile formed on her face.

"I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!" sang Nora.

"Why is she singing that?" asked Shikamaru.

"I don't know..." answered Asuma Sarutobi.

Nora put the shogi piece back down.

"I just felt like singing that." answered the girl with an oversized hammer.

"OK?" stated Shikamaru.

 _Back on the way to the Land Of Waves..._

As Naruto and his friends continued their journey to the Land Of Waves, they were suddenly beset by the two Demon Brothers.

"More of these thugs? Don't worry, we can take them!" exclaimed Naruto.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

Something was wrong.

These two Demon Brothers were clearly chunin.

He had to warn them immediately.

"Naruto, stand back!" warned Kakashi.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

Suddenly, Naruto found himself being stabbed.

"Naruto!" screeched Ruby.

"Don't move! The poison will spread through your body if you do!" warned Kakashi.

Naruto stood still.

Immediately, Kakashi confronted the two Demon Brothers.

"Kakashi Hatake? You're guarding the bridge builder?" asked Gozu.

"Yes, I am." nodded Kakashi.

The Demon Brothers started to wonder if they were outclassed.

Well, they were going to get paid if they killed the bridge builder, so they decided to confront Kakashi anyway.

They extended their shuriken-styled chain and swung it towards Kakashi.

However, he leapt over it.

Kakashi then proceeded to zap them both with his chidori.

Both brothers passed out on the ground on the spot.

"What is going on here?" asked Kakashi.

"I admit it...there's more than just hired mercenaries after me..." answered Tazuna.

"This is clearly a B-Rank Mission...or even higher. Why did you lie to us?" inquired the jonin.

"The Land Of Waves is in poverty...we couldn't afford it, not until we finished building the bridge, at least..." explained the bridge builder.

"What should we do?" asked Naruto.

"Is it just me, or is that cut on your hand healing awfully quickly?" inquired Ruby.

Curious, Naruto took a look and noticed that the cut on his hand was feeling.

He was already starting to feel better from the poison.

Perhaps being the nine-tails jinchuriki had its perks.

"We should probably head back..." answered Kakashi. This was not a mission for genin.

"But if we do that, whose going to build the bridge?" inquired Yang.

Kakashi noted that was a problem.

"I suppose if you insist..." answered the jonin. Still, he was worried about the four genin. Something told him that he would have a hard time protecting them all by himself.

Well, if they insisted on going on the mission, who was he to judge them?

Together, the six of them continued their journey towards the Land Of Waves, tying the two Demon Brothers to a tree as they left.

 _At Gato's headquarters..._

"So, let me get this straight, Kakashi Hatake is guarding the bridge builder?" asked Gato.

"Yes!" nodded one of Gato's employees.

Gato sighed. Assassinating the bridge builder was going to be harder than he thought.

He was going to have to send someone that was more deadly.

Fortunately, he knew who to call.

"Zabuza Momochi? It seems that the Demon Brothers can't be relied on at all...now's your chance..." said Gato.

Zabuza Momochi nodded. Once again, he was being employed as an assassin...though to be honest, he didn't exactly like Gato.

Still, he had to make a living somehow...even if making a living involved working with people like Gato.

He decided that he would assassinate the bridge builder and get paid for it. Simple as that.

He set out from Gato's headquarters and started hunting down the bridge builder. He was on his way back to the Land Of Waves as they spoke.

He was going to make sure that he never made it back.

 _Since I hate Gato, I decided to have the Demon Brothers question him about his actions. Personally I think Orochimaru and Hidan are more evil than he is though._

 _It seems that the term "C-Rank Mission" was rather misleading. This isn't a C-Rank Mission at all. In fact, Team NRSY are going to be lucky to make it out of this mission alive._

 _Now that I think of it, Gato is rather similar to Roman Torchwick. Personally I find Roman to be more likable though._

 _In the next chapter, we're going to meet Zabuza Momochi. Naruto and his friends are going to be lucky to survive this one._


	5. Chapter 5: Demon Of The Mist

In _this chapter, Team NRSY is going to encounter Zabuza, the Demon Of The Mist. They're going to be lucky if they make it out in one piece, especially the bridge builder. Too bad he's an old man with no combat experience._

 _Unfortunately, he didn't have enough money for an A-Rank Mission. Darn Gato and his taxes. Unfortunately they can't host a Land Of Waves Tea Party or his thugs will kick their butts._

 **Chapter 5: Demon Of The Mist**

As they made their way towards The Land Of Waves, they noticed that things were getting rather...foggy.

The five of them wondered what was going on.

"It's kind of hard to see through this fog..." noted Ruby.

"Yeah...I hope we don't get lost." answered Naruto. If only he knew a jutsu that he could use to blow the fog away. He heard that his release was wind, but he had yet to learn those techniques.

Fortunately, Tazuna knew the way to the Land Of Waves. As long as he was around, they should be fine.

"By the way, why is your sister so tall?" inquired the jinchuuriki. She towered over the rest of her teammates.

"She drinks her milk?" answered Ruby.

Suddenly, they heard a noise.

"Huh?" asked the boy.

They then noticed that there was a man standing between them and the path to the Land Of Waves.

Apparently, it was another assassin. How many assassins did Gato have?

However, this one seemed stronger than the chunin that they had encountered earlier.

Also, he had an enormous sword. It was questionable why he would need a sword that was that big.

"Dude, where's your shirt?" questioned Ruby. Was he too sexy for it or something?

"So...you're the bridge builder whose going to bring prosperity to the Land Of Waves...I can't say Gato approves of that." noted Zabuza.

"Who are you?" inquired Yang.

"Yang, I would advise you to stay back. This is Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Mist." warned Kakashi.

"The Demon Of The Mist? I've heard nasty things about him..." noted Ruby. He was in a lot of scary stories that ninjas used to scare children.

"Some of the stories are true, some of them are not. But he's killed a lot of ninja." remarked Kakashi.

"What? That's him? What's he doing trying to assassinate old men?" inquired Naruto.

"Apparently, Gato hired him to make sure that bridge is never built. I'm going to have to use my Sharingan for this one..." said the jonin.

Kakashi revealed his left eye, revealing the Sharingan.

"You have a Sharingan?" inquired Sasuke.

"Yes. I have a Sharingan." answered Kakashi. Speaking of sharing, one of his comrades had given it to him.

"Don't you think it's wrong to murder a harmless old man?" inquired Ruby. What did he ever do to him?

"Don't ask me. Ask the person who hired me in the first place." answered Zabuza.

Suddenly, a strange mist began to surround the forest they were fighting in.

"What's going on?" inquired Naruto.

"He's using a mist technique so that he can obscure our vision, and then cut us down with his sword." explained Kakashi.

Naruto gulped. Was he going to experience sudden death?

Kakashi wondered if he really should be bringing his students into this. Zabuza had slaughtered chunin in the past without using much chakra. And yet, his students were only genin.

Hopefully he wouldn't be fired if his students didn't make it. That wouldn't look good on his record. And it was always sad to see genin on the KIA lists. They had so much left to live for.

 _Meanwhile..._

Jaune let out a sigh as he sat at the table in the cafeteria.

Unfortunately for him, due to his inexperience as a ninja, some other genin had decided to play some jokes at his expense. Cardin in particular liked to make fun of them.

Having as good eyesight as she does, Hinata took notice.

She quickly noticed that Jaune was feeling depressed.

"Hey Jaune, what's the matter?" asked Hinata.

"It's Cardin, he keeps bullying me..." said Jaune. It's as if Cardin thought he was a punching bag or something.

"I'm sorry to hear that." spoke Hinata.

"He gave me a wedgie." remarked the blonde.

"That sounds painful." nodded the brunette.

"Yep. He also shoved me into a locker..." said Jaune. It was cramped in there with all the letters he got from his sisters. Apparently they wanted him to be careful out there, even though most of the missions he was doing were D-Rank.

"I feel bad for you." noted Hinata.

"He seems to like picking on those that are weaker than him." spoke the blonde. He also seemed to like picking on Faunus. He thought it would be funny to pull on Velvet's ears, even though Velvet's ears happened to be rather delicate.

The irony in that was that Velvet happened to be a chunin...in other words, she was kind of out of Cardin's league.

"He certainly does." nodded the Hyuga clan member. She was no stranger to bullies herself.

Hopefully Cardin wouldn't bully Jaune too much. Bullying could really wear down your self-esteem.

"Have you tried telling our sensei?" asked Hinata.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Cardin doesn't like it when people rat him out." noted Jaune.

Hinata wondered what Jaune should do.

 _Meanwhile..._

Zabuza lunged towards Kakashi, hoping to cut his head off.

However, he leapt out of the way.

Even so, Zabuza was still running towards him.

"You're not copying my techniques on my watch." said Zabuza.

This time, it seemed that he managed to strike him down.

"Noooo!" screamed Naruto. Not his teacher! Now who was going to teach him to be a ninja?

Well, maybe Iruka would. But he would have to get out of this mess first.

Oh wait, Kakashi was still alive. It was simply a lightning clone.

"Thank Kaguya..." thought Naruto.

The real Kakashi tossed a kunai at Zabuza.

However, Zabuza evaded it. He had surprisingly fast reflexes.

Kakashi then proceeded to summon several clones to attack Zabuza...

...but Zabuza countered with some clones of his own.

For some strange reason, it seemed that Kakashi was copying everything that Zabuza was doing.

Naruto wondered why.

He then remembered Kakashi revealing his Sharingan eye.

That wouldn't happen to have anything to do with what he was doing now, would it?

But unfortunately, Zabuza found a way to gain the upper hand.

He smacked Kakashi with his sword and he was knocked into a nearby lake.

Kakashi wondered what was going on.

His question was answered when Zabuza trapped Kakashi in a water prison.

"Oh no! He's trapped!" exclaimed Ruby.

"What should we do?" asked Yang.

"I don't want our sensei to be a bubble boy!" shouted Naruto.

"We have to get him out of there." said Sasuke.

"But...how?" inquired the blonde jinchuuriki.

 _Elsewhere..._

"Heh heh, this is going to be hilarious." said Cardin. He couldn't wait to see how the other students would react to his prank.

Much to his delight, Jaune had forgotten to lock the door to his locker, so it looked like now was a good time to pull a practical joke at his expense.

He decided to take Jaune's outfit for himself. Maybe he could blackmail for him it later.

He then left just as Jaune got out of the shower.

"Aah, I feel so much better now. Now to get my clothes so I don't have to walk around naked." said the teenage boy.

Jaune opened his locker door, and groaned.

Now what was he going to wear?

Well, it looked like it was time for him to start looking for some clothes.

Hinata was heading to the girls' locker room, when she met quite the surprise.

There was Jaune, but for some strange reason he was wearing nothing but his boxers.

Hinata's cheeks turned red.

"Hey Hinata. Cardin took my clothes while I was in the shower...he was decent enough to leave me my underwear at least, so at least that's something..." said Jaune.

Hinata's cheeks turned redder.

"Hinata, are you feeling OK?" inquired the blonde.

Hinata's face turned red.

"I think you might have a fever..." said Jaune.

Jaune put his hand on Hinata's forehead.

Hinata felt like she had been touched by an angel.

She fainted.

Jaune gasped in shock.

"Oh no! Hinata!" exclaimed Jaune.

He had to get her to the infirmary immediately!

Jaune picked up Hinata and began to do so...

...uncaring that he was still in his underwear.

Naturally, this didn't go unnoticed.

"Did you see that?" asked Ino.

"Yeah...we're getting some eye candy today." noted Sakura. Too bad it wasn't Sasuke. Then they would be in Heaven.

 _Meanwhile..._

Not wanting his students to die a gruesome death, Kakashi decided it would be best to tell them to flee.

"You need to get out of here! Don't worry about me!" exclaimed Kakashi.

"How can you breathe in there?" asked Ruby. Can their sensei breathe underwater? If so, she wanted to learn how.

"That's not important! You need to leave before you get killed!" shouted the man.

If his genin died ON his watch, he wasn't going to forgive himself.

Already, Zabuza was summoning a water clone to deal with Tazuna. Gato had promised him enough ryo that he would possibly be able to retire from assassination altogether. He better not let him down.

"We can't leave our teacher behind! We'll be the most cowardly ninja ever!" said Naruto. They'll never live that down.

"Not that I don't admire your loyalty, but how are we going to rescue Kakashi? Zabuza's a jonin and we're only genin...he could slaughter us with a single swipe of his sword, even if it just a water clone." pointed out Sasuke.

"Maybe one of us can slip past his water clone if we create a diversion. We'll need someone pretty fast though if we want this plan to work." noted Yang.

"Man, I really wish my uncle Qrow was with me right about now." spoke Ruby.

The other members of Team NRSY looked at Ruby.

"Um, why are you looking at me like that?" inquired the black-haired girl.

 _Elsewhere..._

Weiss received a message from her sending scroll.

It was from her big sister, Winter.

"Hi, sis." spoke Weiss.

"So, you managed to become a genin. Congratulations." said Winter.

"Yes. I think our jonin sensei is rather respectable. His test wasn't very difficult...he just wanted us to work out some." answered Weiss.

"General Ironwood made me work out back when I was still a cadet." noted Weiss's older sister.

"Mm-hmm. It's too bad my father doesn't approve of me deciding to become a huntress." answered Weiss.

"He didn't approve of me joining the army either." stated Winter.

"I think Rock Lee is nice, but he seems lovesick for me. I think we would probably be better off as friends. Neji seems rather full of himself. Sakura is nice, but she has a temper." noted the heiress of the Dust company.

"Remember not to put yourself ahead of your teammates. It may lead to your undoing." warned Weiss's older sister.

Weiss nodded.

She turned off her sending scroll.

Suddenly, she noticed Rock Lee, who had given her flowers.

"You're giving me flowers? How sweet..." answered Weiss.

Rock Lee smiled.

"It's nice to receive gifts from friends." noted the ice warrior.

"Aww..." said the martial artist.

Still, Rock Lee was a better person than her brother. It's nice to know how caring he was.

 _Meanwhile (again)..._

Zabuza's clone approached them with his sword, ready to cut off the head of the bridgebuilder.

However, he found himself being attacked by Naruto, Yang, and Sasuke.

Sasuke attacked first, using fire to attack Zabuza.

But unfortunately for him, Zabuza used water jutsu, so it didn't hurt the clone much.

"Lousy elemental Rock Paper Scissors..." thought Sasuke.

Yang also used fire, but again, it wasn't very effective.

She tried punching Zabuza's clone, but that only resulted in her being slashed away.

"Oh man...one slash of that sword took away half of my semblance..." noted Yang. She had brought her scroll with her, so that's how she knew.

Naruto did better. His clones proceeded to swarm Zabuza's water clone in an attempt to dogpile him to the ground.

However, Zabuza's clone ultimately slashed them away.

"Do those genin really think that they can beat me? Don't make me laugh..." thought Zabuza.

Suddenly, he noticed something that was a little...odd.

Weren't there four of them earlier?

It seemed that one of them had chickened out. Unless...

"Wait a minute..." thought Zabuza.

Suddenly, he found himself being attacked by Ruby, who swung her scythe at Zabuza.

Zabuza tried to avoid it while keeping ahold of the water prison, but it seemed that Ruby was too fast for him.

He had no choice but to dispel the jutsu.

The water prison disappeared, and Kakashi was a free man.

"Yes! We did it!" exclaimed Ruby.

"You little brats..." murmured Zabuza.

Now that Kakashi was free, he could resume his fight with Zabuza.

Zabuza attempted to use his waterfall technique...

...but Kakashi beat him to the punch with his Sharingan.

Suddenly, Zabuza found himself being swept away by an enormous tidal wave.

He began to scream.

After the tidal wave disappeared, Zabuza collapsed on the ground.

Suddenly, someone tossed a senbon into his neck.

Zabuza passed out.

Shortly afterward, a boy wearing a mask appeared and picked up Zabuza.

"Is he dead?" inquired Ruby.

"I'm going to be disposing of his body." said the hunter-nin.

"Who are you?" asked Naruto.

"He's a hunter-nin...they're sent to hunt down missing-nin then dispose of their bodies so that they don't find out their village's secrets." explained Kakashi.

"I see..." nodded Yang.

The hunter-nin picked up Zabuza and took him away.

Shortly afterward, Kakashi passed out on the ground.

"Oh no! Sensei!" shouted Naruto.

"We have to get him to the hospital pronto!" exclaimed Yang.

"We're not far from the Land Of Waves. We can get him medical treatment there." explained Tazuna.

Ruby sighed in relief.

 _Team NRSY has survived this round of attack, but will Zabuza return? We shall see...for now, it's time for our heroes to make their way to the Land Of Waves._

 _Hopefully they can straighten things out with Gato so that the Land Of Waves is safe once and for all._


	6. Chapter 6: Land Of Waves

Well, _it looks like our heroes are free to go to the Land Of Waves without interruption from Gato...but have they seen the last of Zabuza?_

 _And will we see that hunter-nin again?_

 **Chapter 6: Land Of Waves**

"So, this is the Land Of Waves?" inquired Ruby.

Tazuna nodded. He was worried that his trip to Konoha was going to be one-way. It was lucky that Gato's assassins hadn't caught him on the way to Konoha in the first place. Otherwise he would be a dead man.

Quickly, they noticed the gloomy atmosphere. For some strange reason it seemed as if it was always cloudy in the Land Of Waves. There wasn't a whole lot of sunlight.

"It doesn't look like the ideal place to live in..." noted Naruto. Perhaps he was lucky to live in Konoha, even if it was attacked by a nine-tailed fox that was now living inside of him.

Judging from the looks of things, the people of the Land Of Waves were living in poverty. They all seemed to be fairly depressed. It was as if their hope had been drained out of them or something.

Perhaps they had suffered a Grimm attack recently. Grimm attacks made people feel upset, which unfortunately attracted more Grimm, since they fed off of despair.

"It used to be ideal...but then Gato came and took over...and to make matters worse, we started getting attacked by Grimm on the same day." said Tazuna.

"That's terrible. Did anyone try to stop him?" inquired Ruby. She knew she would.

"Someone did...it didn't end well for him." answered the old man.

"That's sad..." said the huntress.

"I'm sorry Ruby, but I don't think we're living in a fairy tale world..." spoke Yang.

"I know..." answered Ruby. The KIA headstone that Kakashi had shown Sasuke was proof of that. At least they had died with honor, right? Perhaps the Grim Reaper wasn't something you should be afraid of.

"So, let me get this straight, you're building this bridge so that you can get Gato to leave the Land Of Waves?" inquired Sasuke.

"He'll lose his grip on the Land Of Waves and then we'll be free as a bird...excluding a bird in a bird cage of course." answered Tazuna.

"Sometimes you can't cage a bird. Their feathers are just too bright!" exclaimed Ruby.

"By the way, how's Kakashi doing?" asked Naruto. Hopefully their sensei wouldn't die. Mentors had a habit of being killed these days.

"He should be fine...unfortunately, he's not part of the Uchiha clan, so using the Sharingan costs him more chakra than normal." explained the bridgebuilder.

"That's a problem." noted Ruby.

"At least we took care of Zabuza...you should be free to build the bridge now, right?" inquired Yang.

 _Meanwhile..._

Zabuza coughed in his bed, still recovering from the beatdown that Kakashi had given him. It looked like killing Tazuna was going to be harder than he thought.

Gato was rather disappointed with Zabuza. Apparently, killing a harmless old man was beyond him. Now it looked like he was going to continue his bridge building project.

To think that he had slaughtered fellow ninja in the past.

"Demon Of The Mist? More like Punching Bag Of The Mist!" exclaimed Gato.

"Shut up!" bellowed Zabuza.

"Give him a second chance." requested the boy that had "killed" Zabuza earlier.

"So, you're his apprentice...Haku, is it? I heard that your father tried to kill you when you were a infant...can't say I blame him!" exclaimed Gato.

"I'll kill you!" screamed the jonin, almost rising from his bed.

Gato panicked and ran behind his two bodyguards.

"On second thought, maybe I should give you a second chance! You did kill a bunch of genin during your chunin exams! That was pretty impressive!" shouted Gato.

"Thank you, Sensei Zabuza." said Haku.

"How should we deal with Kakashi? I don't want to get hit with my own jutsu again..." remarked Zabuza.

"I'll help you." answered Zabuza's apprentice.

"You will?" inquired Zabuza.

"Well, I am your apprentice." stated Haku.

"Touché." answered the swordsman.

 _Elsewhere..._

Shikamaru was taking a nap, even though it was time for his team to go kill some Grimm.

However, Nora would not allow him to do so.

"Wake up!" exclaimed Nora.

"Wha-" questioned Shikamaru.

"You're forgetting about our mission!" shouted the huntress. "Don't you remember?"

Shikamaru yawned. He just wanted to get some sleep.

But unfortunately, Nora wouldn't allow it.

Now that he thought of it, did Nora ever fall asleep? She always seemed to be wide awake every time he saw her.

"Why do you keep falling asleep on our missions?" inquired Ino. It was getting annoying...and at this rate it was going to become life-threatening.

"It's because of the Grimm that my family is dead!" shouted Ren. Shikamaru needed to start taking Grimm hunting seriously.

"Now that I think of it, didn't Naruto's parents meet the same fate when the nine-tailed fox attacked the village?" inquired Shikamaru.

"I guess Naruto and I have a lot in common. Then again, he tends to act more like Nora does." remarked Ren.

"Yahoo!" exclaimed Nora as she smashed a Beowulf's face in.

The Beowulf burst into black smoke. For some strange reason, Grimm did this every time they died. Did someone not want them to perform an autopsy on Grimm every time they died?

Ino then followed by punching and kicking an Ursa in the face.

"You're unbearable!" shouted Ino.

"That sounds like something that Yang would say..." noted Ren.

"She reminds me of Sakura personally." remarked the blonde.

"Oh, right. She fights with her fists." spoke Ino.

They used to be friends, until Sasuke jumped between the two of them. He was such a babe magnet. She couldn't help but love his sexy body.

"Have you ever thought of using your mind transfer jutsu on Sasuke?" inquired Nora.

Ino blushed.

"I actually haven't thought of that." answered Ino.

She could do that...but Sakura would probably beat the crud out of her for being so lecherous.

Perhaps it would be best not to do so.

"Why do the Grimm hate humanity so much?" inquired Shikamaru as he stabbed a Beowulf to death with a kunai.

"I don't know but I'm not letting them destroy Konoha!" exclaimed Nora.

Shikamaru supposed the less Grimm in the world, the better.

Now, if only he could get some sleep.

 _Meanwhile..._

Team NRSY went to visit Kakashi in the hospital.

"How are you doing?" asked Ruby to her sensei. "I brought cookies! They always cheer me up..."

"Much better...I should be up and about pretty soon...and it's just as well..." said Kakashi.

"Huh?" inquired the teenage girl.

"I'm starting to think Zabuza is still alive..." answered the jonin.

"I thought he was dead..." stated Naruto.

"Under normal circumstances a hunter ninja would destroy a missing ninja's body...but instead the hunter ninja kept the body for himself. Also, he was using senbon, which aren't normally lethal unless you dip them with poison." answered Kakashi.

"That is strange..." nodded Sasuke.

"In case he's still alive, I would advise you to start training." said the jonin.

"You got it, boss!" exclaimed Yang.

"Considering how depressing the Land Of Waves is, it's probably attracted some Grimm. Knowing Gato he's probably making the Land Of Waves' citizens pay him lots of money for protection...I suggest you deal with them so that the Land Of Waves doesn't lose any more money..." advised Kakashi.

The four of them nodded. That seemed reasonable.

Perhaps they should look on the outskirts of town for them.

On the way there, they met with Tazuna.

"How is your sensei?" inquired Tazuna.

"He'll be OK." answered Ruby.

"Good. I was going to visit my grandson as well as my daughter to let them know that I made it to the Land Of Waves..." said the bridgebuilder.

"Good idea." nodded Naruto.

They decided to go visit him himself.

"Hello!" exclaimed the genin.

"Hey..." answered Inari.

"Hello." said Inari's mother, Tsunami.

Quickly, Naruto noticed that Inari seemed rather depressed. His head was faced towards towards the ground.

"Why the long face?" inquired Naruto.

"My grandson is upset because his stepfather was killed by Gato." explained Tazuna.

"He was?" asked Yang.

Inari looked at his feet.

"Months ago, Inari met a traveling fisherman by the name of Kaiza. Unfortunately, at the time, he didn't know how to swim, and he fell off the pier. Luckily, he was rescued by him. I wouldn't want to lose my grandson, especially after I lost my son-in-law..." noted Tazuna.

"At one point he helped us prevent a dam from flooding the Land Of Waves, I'm not sure how he survived but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth. Afterwards, he married my daughter and the Land Of Waves was at peace." continued the bridgebuilder.

"Sounds perfect." answered Ruby.

"Yes...but unfortunately that couldn't last forever...Gato took over our shipping trade and cut us off from the rest of the world...he also embezzled the money that we put into our shipping taxes...long story short, the Land Of Waves was impoverished." stated Tazuna.

Naruto sighed.

"Eventually, Kaiza formed a resistance group bent on stopping Gato. But unfortunately, someone leaked information about the guild's headquarters to the man. Apparently they thought it was better to serve Gato than oppose him. I wish I could tell you that Kaiza fought the good fight and Gato's thugs let him be, but the resistance toppled and everyone was killed, including Kaiza himself who was executed in front of the Land Of Waves." answered Tazuna.

"I was hoping for a happy ending." said Yang. That story was disappointing.

"Well, it started off happy." noted Ruby.

"Unfortunately, nobody else was willing to oppose Gato after that. They didn't want to end up like Kaiza and his group did. Now Gato's free to do whatever he wants." stated the bridgebuilder.

"Don't be a hero..." murmured Inari.

"We'll stop him." answered Sasuke.

"Admirable, but can you pull it off? His headquarters is heavily guarded." questioned Tazuna.

"True...but on the other hand, they're not exactly Zabuza caliber..." noted Ruby. If they were ninja, things would be different, but they were merely common thugs. One of them wouldn't be nearly enough to take them down.

For now, it was time for them to train. Luckily, killing Grimm helped them hone their abilities. They just had to be careful not to get hurt. But considering they had survived their encounter with Zabuza, who was an A-Rank assassin, they would probably be fine.

 _Back at Konoha..._

Cardin smirked as he prepared to pull another prank on Jaune.

This time, he was going to put spiders in his locker.

He couldn't wait to listen to Jaune scream, especially since he screamed like a little girl.

However, his actions were noticed by his sensei, Professor Port.

"What are you doing?" asked Professor Port.

"I'm pulling a prank on Jaune...it's going to be so funny! I just love pranking him..." remarked Cardin.

"I would advise against that...people can only be pushed so far before they push back..." answered Professor Port.

'So? I doubt he could ever push me even if he tried...he's a weakling!" exclaimed the bully.

"I'm not so sure about that." answered Cardin's sensei.

Cardin groaned.

He decided maybe he should save the spiders for another day. He had lost count on how many times that he had pranked Jaune, anyway.

Personally he thought that Professor Port's advice was baloney. Why exactly was he his sensei, again?

Maybe he could prank his teammates. Then again, Professor Port had also warned not to make his teammates turn against him.

Maybe he shouldn't...

Then again, it would probably be easy to prank Sun Wukong. He simply loved bananas.

Speaking of bananas, he knew where he could get some.

"Off to get some bananas I go..." thought Cardin to himself.

 _At the outskirts of the Land Of Waves..._

"So, this is where the Grimm are lurking?" asked Naruto.

"It looks that way." nodded Sasuke.

Well, it was time to get searching.

However, as they went looking for them, Yang noticed who appeared to be a lady standing by the flowers.

"Hello?" asked Yang.

"Hello." answered Haku.

"What are you doing here?" inquired the huntress.

"I'm just admiring the scenery. By the way, why did you become a huntress?" inquired the ice ninja.

"Well, when we were young, my half-sister and I were nearly killed by Grimm...it seems that they wanted to snuff out our innocence on account on us being children...I don't think Grimm like happiness..." noted Yang.

"How did you survive?" asked Zabuza's apprentice.

"Our uncle Qrow came to save us...however, I question whether he brought the Grimm in the first place. For some strange reason whenever he's around bad things happen...maybe they should name Murphy's Law Qrow's Law after my uncle Qrow." remarked the blonde.

"Things had a habit of going wrong for me too." answered Haku.

"Huh?" asked Yang.

 _"What do you mean you're part of the Yuki Clan?" inquired Haku's father._

 _"Well..." answered Haku's mother._

 _"Die, frost demon" exclaimed Haku's father, stabbing Haku's mother in the gut._

 _Haku entered the room and gasped in shock._

 _"Mother!" shouted Haku._

 _"You're next!" exclaimed Haku's father._

 _Fortunately for Haku, he managed to defend himself by freezing his father in a block of ice...where he quickly froze to death._

"That's horrible! How did you survive?" asked Yang.

"I...was adopted." answered Haku.

 _"What's the matter?" asked Zabuza._

 _"My father killed my mother...and tried to kill me..." answered Haku._

 _"What kind of father does this kid have?" thought the man._

 _Haku began to cry._

 _Zabuza comforted him._

 _"Do you...need a place to stay?" asked Zabuza. He had a hideout that he could use to hide from the missing-nin in the event that they went searching for them. It was quite handy._

 _Besides, there was something about this boy...it seemed like potential to him._

 _"Yes!" exclaimed Haku._

 _Zabuza picked up Haku and together they went towards Zabuza's hideout._

"It's nice to know that you were adopted..." answered Yang.

Of course, Haku had not told Yang who the man who adopted him was.

"By the way, your voice sounds familiar. Have we met before?" inquired the blonde.

"No! Of course not!" exclaimed Haku, shaking his head back and forth.

"Alright then! I guess it's just a coincidence! Maybe there's just a lot of girls out there with the same voice as you!" shouted Yang.

"Actually, I'm a guy." answered Zabuza's apprentice.

"Wait, what?!" exclaimed the blonde.

"I know, it surprises everyone." stated Haku.

Haku turned to leave.

"Huh. I met a boy who was less masculine than me...I feel like a total dude." thought Yang.

Still, something told her that if Haku entered a hot spring, the boys would be all over him.

Well, it was time to join her teammates.

 _That was a sad story about Kaiza, wasn't it? Of course, you're probably familiar with it if you're a Naruto fan...minus the resistance group of course. I figure Kaiza wouldn't challenge Gato alone like he did in the anime...that wasn't too smart. Too bad he wasn't a ninja, right?_

 _In the next chapter, Gato's going to make an offer that Tazuna can't refuse...too bad he doesn't have a hostage negotiator. He can't afford it, considering he works at the Land of Waves. Can Naruto and Ruby stop him?_


	7. Chapter 7: Battle At The Bridge

_In this chapter, Naruto and Ruby are going to fight against Gato and his henchmen. They may not be able to beat Zabuza by themselves but they can still handle common thugs, right?_

 _Speaking of Zabuza, he's going to return...and Kakashi is going to face him again. However, he's not fighting solo this time. Sasuke and Yang are going to face off against Haku._

 **Chapter 7: Battle At The Bridge**

Ruby sliced through a King Taijutu's black head, while Naruto tossed a shuriken into the white head's face.

The Grimm burst into black and white smoke.

"For some strange reason a lot of Grimm happen to resemble animals..." noted Ruby. Perhaps they were designed to play on particular people's fears. Fear was what attracted the Grimm, after all.

"They act like animals too." answered Naruto. He wondered why. Not every Grimm resembled an animal though. Some of them happened to be ghosts.

Shortly afterward, Sasuke roasted some Nevermore by using Great Fireball Techniques.

The evil birds had never known what had hit them. All that was left of them were their feathers.

"This is getting too easy." noted Ruby.

"Still, I feel a lot stronger than before." answered the genin. Hopefully he could master chakra control because he heard that he had a lot of it. That would explain how he could master the shadow clone technique so quickly.

"Psst, Ruby! Want to watch me pull a prank?" inquired Naruto.

"Huh?" asked Ruby.

"Just sit back and watch the fun!" exclaimed the genin.

Ruby nods. This was going to be exciting.

"Alright, Naruto. I think that's enough Grimm hunting for to-"

Sasuke was cut off when he gasped in shock. There was Naruto, but for some strange reason he was now a young lady. Also, he was naked.

Luckily, she was covered with smoke, so Sasuke didn't bleed to death from his nose. Even so, his face turned red.

"What do you think of my Sexy Jutsu, Sasuke?" asked Naruto in a woman's voice.

Sasuke passed out on the ground.

Naruto turned back to his normal form and laughed.

"That was hilarious!" exclaimed Naruto.

"It certainly was! But for some strange reason you looked like my sister Yang..." answered Ruby.

"Huh. Maybe my time with her has started to rub off on me...speaking of Yang, where is she? I hope nothing bad happened to her." stated Naruto.

At that very moment, Yang returned from her conversation with Haku.

"There you are, Yang! Where were you?" asked Ruby.

"Oh hey Ruby. I was just having a conversation with a boy...who for some strange reason looked like a girl." answered Yang.

"Huh. People keep telling me that I sound like a girl...why is my voice so high-pitched?" inquired Naruto.

"You two want to see my Adorable Jutsu?" asked Ruby.

"Sure." nodded Yang.

Ruby used her Adorable Jutsu.

Now she was wearing a bunny girl costume. Also, she looked younger.

"Aww...you're so adorable, sis!" exclaimed Yang.

"Come here you!" shouted Naruto.

Both Yang and Naruto hugged Ruby.

"Guys, you're choking me..." stated Ruby. She was starting to have second thoughts upon inventing the Adorableness Jutsu.

 _Elsewhere..._

"I brought the herbs that you requested." answered Haku.

"Good, Haku. I should be ready to enter the battlefield soon." stated Zabuza.

Haku bowed to his master.

"I met one of the genin that we encountered earlier...she had blonde hair and was pretty tall..." answered Haku.

"Are you socializing with the enemy?" questioned the cold-hearted killer.

"You know how pacifistic I am..." stated the ice ninja.

"There's nothing wrong with killing a ninja every now and then. You impersonated a hunter-nin, did you not?" inquired Zabuza.

"True..." answered Haku. Still, he questioned why Zabuza would kill ninja for a living. Then again, not all of those ninja were good people. Some of them were bad.

Personally Haku questioned whether Zabuza should be working with Gato. As long as he was around, everyone at the Land Of Waves was going to be miserable.

Well, it was Zabuza's choice, not his.

 _At Inari's house..._

"It's nice that these four genin are willing to help us deal with Gato..." noted Tsunami.

"I don't see the point." answered Inari.

"Don't be like that! They're doing their best!" exclaimed Inari's mother.

"They're just going to end up like my stepfather did..." stated the boy. On the lighter of side of things, Gato hadn't forced him to watch the whole thing. It WAS a public execution though.

"Don't be so pessimistic." answered Tsunami.

Inari sighed. Maybe his mother had a point.

Besides, he was looking forward to Gato getting what he deserved, even if nobody else seemed to have the courage to stand up to him.

 _Back at Konoha..._

"I heard that Team NRSY went on a mission to another country...you think they'll come back?" asked Hinata. She had never left Konohagakure before so she wasn't sure what the other villages were alike.

She had heard that Konoha had gotten trouble with Kumogakure in the past.

"I'd like to think that they will come back." answered Jaune. Still, he was under the impression that they would be back from now. Had their mission been harder than they thought?

Now that they thought of it, it didn't seem like the bridge builder had a lot of money. Had he lied about the difficulty of the mission so that he could afford it?

If so, they might be in danger.

But on the lighter side, they had Kakashi with them. They would probably be safe while he was around, right? Rumor had it that he had the Sharingan in his left eye.

He thought that was rather odd though. Since when did ninja from outside the Uchiha clan have the Sharingan? And wasn't the Uchiha clan wiped out by Itachi Uchiha?

Personally he wondered why Itachi Uchiha would wipe out his own clan. He knew that he would never hurt any of his sisters or his parents.

Surely there must be a reason for what he did...but what reason was that?

"By the way, how are you doing?" inquired Jaune.

"I'm doing fine. Kurenai wants me to believe in myself during training." answered Hinata. Kurenai assured her that she could do great things if she simply believed in herself.

Unfortunately for her, she had a problem believing in herself ever since she was a child. Perhaps following in the footsteps of the rest of her clan made her feel pressured. At least her cousin Neji seemed to be doing fine. Perhaps he wanted to be more than just a servant to his household.

"Sometimes I find it hard to believe in myself. I had a hard time during the ninja academy. Luckily things seem easier for me ever since I thwarted that dust robbery." noted Jaune.

"I see..." nodded Hinata. Hopefully Cardin had left him alone. If Cardin bullied him too much she might have to take direct action.

However, at the moment, it seemed that he was pulling pranks on Sun Wukong. They seemed pretty mild compared to the ones that he had pulled on Jaune though. Perhaps he had a level of respect for his teammates. Otherwise, Professor Port would have never allowed him to pass his sensei exam.

 _Meanwhile..._

Roman Torchwick contacted his employer using the sending scroll.

"How are the dust robberies?" asked Cinder.

"I'm doing fine, other than that robbery that was thwarted by that teenage boy who wasn't even a genin..." remarked Roman Torchwick.

"Don't let that happen again. You know what happens when people fail me, don't you?" inquired the woman.

Roman Torchwick felt nervous. He had seen Cinder burn people alive before. She was well-known for her fire techniques.

"Yes, I do." nodded Roman.

"I could have asked Gato since his headquarters isn't far from the Land Of Waves, but it seems he doesn't want to risk being caught by the jonin of Konoha. Luckily, you seem to have given him the slip." noted Cinder.

"Yes." answered the man. Luckily, he hadn't been caught yet.

"Apparently they're designing some sort of bridge so that the Land Of Waves doesn't have to rely on him anymore. Perhaps he'll be more willing to consider my offers once the bridge is complete." noted Cinder.

Roman nodded.

"Why do you want me to work with the White Fang, anyway? You know I can't stand the Faunus." answered the man.

"You better not tell Tyrian then. People like you drive him insane..." stated Cinder.

Roman gulped. He heard of that lunatic. He was even more evil than he was, that was for certain.

Immediately, he and the White Fang went to collect more dust.

Cinder would be very unhappy with him if he didn't meet her expectations.

 _One week later..._

Naruto and Ruby were training, when suddenly they noticed something strange.

It seemed that there were footsteps on the ground.

They seemed to be leading to Inari's house.

"What's going on?" asked Ruby.

"I'm not sure..." answered Naruto.

They decided to follow the footprints in order to investigate.

Inside Inari's house, Tsunami was doing dishes while Inari was sitting on a chair.

Suddenly, Zori broke down the door.

"Good morning, ma'am!" exclaimed Zori sarcastically.

Tsunami gasped and dropped one of the dishes she was scrubbing.

"What do you want?" asked Tsunami.

"Your father insists on his little bridge project despite Gato's warnings...so we decided to get some leverage." answered Waraji.

"What?"! exclaimed the lady.

"Leave her alone!" bellowed Inari.

Immediately, he began to wail on Waraji's stomach.

Unfortunately, this did not hurt him.

"Sorry, kid, your mother's coming with us!" exclaimed Waraji.

He punched Inari in the face and knocked him out cold.

"Inari!" shouted Tsunami.

They then locked him inside a closet.

Afterwards, Zori hit Tsunami on the head and put her in a bag.

"Let's see the bridge builder continue his own project while Gato has his own daughter!" exclaimed Zori.

"That reminds me, didn't he already murder his stepson-in-law?" inquired Waraji.

"I know. You'd think that he'd have learned his lesson by now. Well, if he wants to throw away his life AND his family's, then we won't stop him." answered the thug with a black hat.

Taking Tsunami with them, the two of them left the building.

However, they were noticed by Naruto and Ruby.

"What's in that bag?" asked Naruto.

"Nothing that you twerps should be considered about. Now get lost! We're doing important work for our employer." answered Zori.

"What important work?" inquired Ruby.

"You're sticking your noses in the wrong people's business!" exclaimed Waraji.

"Help!" screamed Tsunami.

"Tsunami?" asked Naruto.

"That's it! You punks are going down!" exclaimed Ruby, brandishing her scythe.

Zori and Waraji laughed.

"You honestly think a couple kids like yourself can stop us?" asked Waraji.

Their question was answered when suddenly Ruby slashed Waraji across the chest with her scythe.

"Aargh!" exclaimed Waraji, collapsing on the ground.

"Waraji!" shouted Zori.

This was then followed by Naruto punching Zori in the face and knocking him out cold.

They then untied the bag that Tsunami was inside.

"Thank you so much. Where is Inari?" asked Tsunami.

Ruby and Naruto searched the house.

They found him inside the closet.

Ruby unlocked the door.

"What happened? Where's my mother?" asked Inari.

"We rescued her, no worries." answered Ruby.

Curious, Inari wondered if perhaps they stood a chance against Gato after all.

He decided to go get his crossbow. He had a score to settle with the man.

"You know, now that I think of it, you think we should confront Gato personally?" inquired Naruto.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea." answered Ruby.

Perhaps they'd be able to pull it off by themselves.

Where were Sasuke and Yang though? They had lost track of them.

 _At the unfinished bridge..._

"How is the bridge coming along?" asked Sasuke.

"It's almost complete. I appreciate your help." answered Tazuna.

Still, he couldn't help but feel worried about Inari and Tsunami. What if Gato's thugs came after them?

Fortunately, Kakashi was with him in case Gato's henchmen tried to interfere with the construction project.

Suddenly, they noticed things were starting to become...foggy.

"It's that fog again!" exclaimed Yang.

"It seems that Zabuza has returned." answered Kakashi.

"And he's not alone." stated Sasuke.

As they discovered, the "hunter-nin" that they encountered earlier was with them.

Zabuza pulled out his sword.

"Don't assume that you're going to win this time." answered Zabuza.

"I won't." stated Kakashi.

Haku pulled out some senbon and tossed them at Sasuke and Yang.

Quickly, they leapt out of the way in order to avoid them.

Yang then opened fire on Haku using her gauntlets.

However, it quickly became apparent that Haku was very fast on his feet.

"Nobody has to die here other than the bridge builder." pointed out Haku.

"But if the bridge builder dies, whose going to complete the bridge?" inquired Yang.

For some strange reason, Yang felt like he had met this boy before.

Sasuke followed by tossing a kunai at the boy, but once again he was too quick.

Meanwhile, Kakashi fought against Zabuza.

However, it seemed that he was better prepared for the encounter this time.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the mist was preventing Kakashi from copying Zabuza's techniques.

He was going to have to improvise.

Kakashi attempted to use shadow clones, but unfortunately Zabuza countered using his water clones.

He decided to use his Chidori, but Zabuza blocked it with his sword.

Kakashi also noticed that Zabuza's eyes were closed. Apparently, he didn't want to fall victim to any of the genjutsu from the Sharingan.

Nearby, Yang attempted to punch Haku with her gauntlets.

However, when she hit the clone, Haku turned into snow and melted.

Apparently, this was only a clone.

Haku attempted to launch senbon into Yang's back, but Sasuke pushed Yang out of the way.

Haku had to admit, he was rather impressed with their capabilities.

Now that he thought of it, wasn't Sasuke one of the only survivors of the Uchiha clan?

It was surprising that he would get to meet one of them. Luckily, he wasn't up against Itachi or he wouldn't stand a chance.

Still, it was two against one. Perhaps there was something that he could do to even the odds.

He began to think about what to do.

He realized that he needed to hurry. Both Sasuke and Yang were approaching him...and quickly.

Suddenly, he remembered the jutsu that he possessed. Perhaps that was the solution.

As Sasuke and Yang approached him, they suddenly noticed that mirrors were appearing.

They quickly found themselves surrounded.

"What's going on?" asked Yang.

"We're trapped!" exclaimed Sasuke.

Shortly afterwards, Haku's reflection appeared on each of the mirrors.

"Did he just clone himself?" inquired the blonde.

"This isn't good...I don't think we're capable of telling where he's going to attack next..." answered Sasuke.

Suddenly, Haku launched some senbon at Sasuke.

However, they were at a much faster speed than before.

Sasuke was just narrowly able to avoid it.

Kakashi wondered if he should help them.

However, Zabuza knew what he was thinking.

"Don't even think about it, Kakashi. If you go after Haku, I'll go after the bridge builder." warned Zabuza.

Kakashi wondered if Zabuza cared about his partner.

Well, hopefully Sasuke and Yang would be able to defend themselves. They had agreed to go on this A-Rank Mission even if A-Rank Missions weren't for genin.

Still, it would be a good idea to try to wrap up this fight quickly.

Suddenly, he noticed that Zabuza had mysteriously disappeared.

He wondered where he had gone. It didn't seem to him like he was retreating. He still had a large amount of chakra.

It then occurred to him where he was headed.

"I must save the bridge builder immediately!" thought Kakashi. Wouldn't want to fail the mission.

Immediately, he chased after Zabuza.

 _Things aren't looking good for Sasuke, Yang, and Tazuna right now. Hopefully they won't fail the mission or be KIA._

 _In the next chapter, Ruby and Naruto are going after Gato while Sasuke and Yang continue fighting Haku. Kakashi of course is going to continue fighting Zabuza like he did earlier._


	8. Chapter 8: Gato's Downfall

_In this chapter, Gato is going to meet his end. You're looking forward to that, right? Also, we're going to see how the fight with Zabuza and Haku turns out. It's going to be sad...much like in the Naruto anime itself..._

 **Chapter 8: Gato's Downfall**

Ruby and Naruto approached Gato's headquarters.

Two of his thugs were standing outside.

"Hey! You two brats can't come in here!" bellowed one of the thugs.

"Get out of here before we make you!" demanded the other.

"I guess we're going to have to do things the hard way." noted Naruto.

Ruby nodded.

She pulled out her scythe.

"What the-" exclaimed one of the thugs.

She then slashed the thug with her scythe.

The thug collapsed on the ground.

His partner gasped in shock. His friend had been knocked out so easily.

"Don't assume we're pushovers just because we're kids!" exclaimed Ruby.

"How did they get so strong?" thought the thug to himself.

Naruto punched the mercenary in the face and he passed out.

They then stormed inside Gato's headquarters.

They continued fighting unless eventually they reached the vault where Gato kept his money. Dirty money.

"Let's take the money that he embezzled, shall we?" asked Naruto.

Ruby nodded.

Naruto and Ruby pulled out a bag and started collecting the money that Gato had taken from other countries over the years.

He would share some of it with the Land Of Waves. It would certainly help with their bridge construction project.

Now that they had gotten the money that he had gotten through illicit means, they wondered what they should do next.

Since Gato was selling illegal drugs perhaps it would be best to find the laboratory where he made them and destroy it.

They decided to look around for it.

As it turned out, it was in the headquarter's basement.

Naruto pulled out a paper bomb.

"Bombs away!" exclaimed Naruto.

Naruto tossed the paper bomb and the laboratory was blown up.

"That should stop him from making any more drugs." answered Ruby.

It was a good thing that they helped put a stop to Gato's drug trade. Drugs could seriously ruin your life...unless of course, they were prescription drugs. UNLESS of course, you abused the prescription drugs.

However, they quickly noticed that they had set a fire.

"We might want to get out of here..." answered Ruby.

Ruby and Naruto nodded, and they began to evacuate the now burning building.

Fortunately, they managed to escape.

Ruby sighed in relief.

Suddenly, Naruto's scroll began to vibrate.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

As he discovered, it was from Yang.

Naruto decided to see what the message was.

Apparently, both she and Sasuke were in danger.

"This isn't good..." stated Naruto.

"What's the matter?" inquired Ruby.

"Zabuza's returned...and he brought someone else with him." answered the genin.

"He has? That's not good!" exclaimed Ruby.

"That's why we need to get there as soon as we can." stated the blonde.

Ruby nodded.

Together, they headed straight towards the bridge that was being constructed.

 _At the bridge..._

Unfortunately for Sasuke and Yang, it seemed that Haku was too fast for them to hit. He was moving between them at astonishing speeds.

Yang punched one of the mirrors, but it wasn't enough to break it. It did leave a crack in the mirror though.

Likewise, Sasuke tried using his Great Fireball Technique, but it only succeeded in making a few drops of water fall from the ice.

"But I thought that fire melted ice..." questioned Sasuke. This was defying logic.

This worried Sasuke. It seemed that they might very well be out of their depth.

And to make matters worse, every time Haku jumped between mirrors, he threw senbon at them. Sasuke had several cuts on his body already.

Yang wasn't doing so good either.

Although, for some strange reason, his eyes were starting to feel funny.

He wondered what was going on.

He then remembered the history of his clan.

The Uchiha had access to the Sharingan, which they could use to mimic the moves of their opponent. It also allowed them to be more perceptive as well.

Now that he thought of it, didn't Kakashi show them his Sharingan not too long ago?

That would explain why he was chosen to be his sensei.

Although, he wondered why Kakashi had only one Sharingan instead of two. He wasn't part of the Uchiha clan, was he?

At that very moment, Sasuke's Sharingan activated.

"Sasuke? Your eyes are looking...red..." questioned Yang.

Sasuke noticed that all of a sudden, Haku seemed a lot slower than he was before.

He decided to try hitting him again.

This time, he almost succeeded.

"What?!" exclaimed Haku.

It quickly became apparent that he might not have the upper hand anymore.

He was lucky that fireball hadn't hit him. Otherwise he might have been a goner.

It looked like he was going to have to take care of Sasuke quickly.

He decided to focus on Sasuke by tossing icicles at him.

But unfortunately, Sasuke simply melted him with another Great Fireball Technique.

Haku thought about what he should do.

He then noticed that his partner Yang was still punching the mirrors.

Perhaps he should try focusing on her instead.

Haku produced an icicle and tossed it at Yang.

Sasuke quickly leapt in harm's way in order to save Yang.

"Sasuke!" exclaimed Yang.

Sasuke was stabbed in the back.

He collapsed on the ground.

"Noooooo!" screamed the blonde.

Haku sighed in relief. It appeared that he had really dodged a kunai.

Now that Sasuke was down, it was time to focus on Yang.

However, as he prepared to fire a senbon, he noticed that Yang looked rather...angry.

In fact, she was surrounded by flames.

"I will kill you!" screamed Yang.

It occurred that at very moment Haku had awoken the beast within Yang.

And to think that she seemed rather relaxed when he had first met her.

This time, Yang decided to launch flames at the mirrors.

But this time, they were starting to melt.

"You can't hide from me! Face me!" exclaimed Yang.

Haku realized that once the mirrors melted, Yang was going to be right.

And they were melting at a rapid pace too.

Haku tried tossing another icicle at Yang, but it melted upon contact with her.

What was he going to do now?

Yang then ran up to Haku and punched him as hard as he could, causing him to scream in pain.

"You'll pay!" exclaimed Yang.

Yang then punched him in the face, causing the mask to break off.

Suddenly, the flames surrounding Yang disappeared.

She noticed something...surprising.

As it turned out, the shinobi she was fighting was the boy that she had encountered earlier.

"Haku? Is that you?" inquired Yang.

"Yes, it is." answered Haku.

"Why'd you stab Sasuke in the back? What did he ever do to you?" asked the blonde.

"Well to be honest, I wasn't actually planning to kill him...that's why I didn't aim at his vitals." answered Haku.

"Wait, you didn't?" asked Yang.

Haku nodded.

Curious, Yang checked to see if Sasuke was still alive, careful to look behind her to make sure Haku wasn't simply trying to make her let her guard down.

She wasn't a medical ninja, but she got the feeling that she could do so by checking his pulse.

It turned out he WAS still alive.

"Huh, I guess you weren't planning to kill him." answered Yang.

She felt sheepish.

Thank goodness Haku was a pacifist.

Still, it would probably be best if she continued the fight. If she took down Haku, she could help Kakashi deal with Zabuza.

 _Meanwhile..._

Kakashi was still fighting Zabuza, not wanting to let him assassinate the bridge builder.

Suddenly, he disappeared.

Kakashi wondered where Zabuza had gone.

He had vanished from sight.

It was as if he had vanished in the mist.

"Where could he be?" inquired Kakashi.

Something was wrong.

Suddenly, it occurred to him where he was heading.

He was heading straight towards the bridge builder!

Quickly, Kakashi moved to intervene.

The problem was...how was he going to track down Zabuza in the fog?

Perhaps it was time to use his dog summons. Surely they could track him down by tracking his scent.

Knowing what Zabuza's Sword was like, it likely smelled like blood.

Kakashi pulled out a scroll and began to do just that.

Hopefully he wasn't too late.

Zabuza ran towards the bridge builder, ready to behead him.

"Gato had better pay me big time for this..." thought Zabuza, recalling the beatdown he had received earlier.

Suddenly, he felt sharp fangs on his leg.

"What?" inquired Zabuza.

Another bit into his arm.

This went on until Zabuza collapsed on the ground.

Seizing his opportunity, Kakashi used his ultimate technique, Lightning Cutter.

It was time to finish this once and for all.

Kakashi ran towards Zabuza with his arm outstretched.

"This isn't going to end well..." remarked Zabuza.

Haku noticed what was going on.

Quickly, he stopped fighting Yang and ran towards Zabuza.

"Huh?" asked Yang.

He attempted to use himself a shield...

...but it was too late.

"No!" exclaimed Haku.

Zabuza was dead.

Haku fell on his knees, shocked at what had happened.

"No...I failed him..." said Haku.

"He really met a lot to you, didn't he?" questioned Yang.

"He took me in...after I was orphaned." answered the teenage boy.

"So...he was like a father to you?" inquired the blonde.

"Yes!" exclaimed Haku.

Haku went to where Zabuza's corpse was and picked up his sword.

"What are you-" asked Yang.

"Now that Zabuza's dead, I don't have a reason to live." answered Haku.

"Wait, n-"

Haku stabbed him in the heart with Zabuza's sword.

He then fell to the ground dead.

Yang cried. Why did things have to end like this?

At that very moment, Naruto and Ruby arrived on the scene.

"Big sis! I arrived as soon as you can...what's wrong?" asked Ruby.

Curious, Ruby noticed the bodies of Zabuza along with Haku.

"I guess we were kind of late..." answered the brunette.

With Zabuza gone, the fog was starting to lift.

"Sasuke! No!" exclaimed Naruto.

Naruto cried over Sasuke, who was still lying on the ground.

"I knew we had our moments in which we didn't get along...but I never wanted this!" exclaimed Naruto.

Naruto continued to cry.

Ruby put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"I didn't want him dead either..." answered Ruby.

Ruby began to cry as well.

"Um guys, Sasuke isn't dead..." stated Yang.

"Wait, what?!" shouted Naruto.

"It turns out Zabuza's apprentice was a pacifist...his name was Haku." answered the blonde girl.

"Then why were you crying?" asked Yang's half-sister.

"After Zabuza died, Haku committed suicide. He claimed that he didn't have anything to live for." stated Yang.

"That's terrible..." answered Ruby.

"Well, at least now Tazuna can build his bridge without fear of reprisal..." said Naruto.

"I don't know...I still can't help but shake the feeling we're forgetting something." answered the brunette.

Suddenly, they began to hear footsteps.

What was going on?

"Ah crap...it's the crime lord who hired Zabuza!" exclaimed Yang.

Sure enough, it was Gato...and he had brought many thugs with him.

"Well well well, Zabuza failed, just as I thought he would. No matter. I'll just blow up the bridge and finish the work that he failed to complete myself." answered Gato.

"What? You're going to blow up the bridge?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Yes...pretty soon, you'll all be sleeping with the fishes! Of course, I'll be standing away from the explosives so I WON'T get blown up. That would be pretty stupid." shouted Gato.

Immediately, Gato prepared to press the button that would activate the explosives and send Naruto and his friends to their watery graves.

"Noooo!" exclaimed Ruby.

However, before Gato could do so, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hand.

He dropped the detonator on the ground.

He looked at his hand, and discovered it was bleeding. Someone had launched a crossbow bolt at him!

"What's going on?" asked Naruto.

As it turned out, it was Inari.

"You're not destroying my grandpa's bridge!" exclaimed Inari.

He was armed with his personal crossbow.

Not wanting to take his chances, Gato attempted to flee behind his thugs.

However, Inari shot him in the leg before he could so, causing him to fall down.

"No! Don't do this! I'll give you anything you want! You can even have a million dollars if you wish!" exclaimed Gato.

"Should we help him?" asked one of Gato's thugs.

"We probably shouldn't...in case you haven't noticed, he has a jonin on his side...do you want to end up like Zabuza?" asked another one of Gato's thugs.

The other thug shook his head.

Unfortunately, Inari wasn't going to accept Gato's bribes.

"This is for Kaiza!" exclaimed Inari, aiming the crossbow at Gato's head.

Inari shot a crossbow bolt at Gato's head, causing it to ooze blood.

Gato then collapsed on the floor, and drew his last breath.

Iruka smiled. He had avenged his adoptive father.

Not only that, but now there was nothing stopping Tazuna from completing his bridge project.

There was just one problem left to take care of.

"What should we do now that Gato's gone?" asked one of the thugs. They would have liked to save him, but watching him cowardly beg for his life was actually somewhat amusing. Besides, they probably wouldn't have been able to save him anyway. They doubted Naruto and Ruby would let them hurt the young boy.

"I say we pillage the village!" exclaimed another thug.

Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"You do realize that the Land Of Waves is broke, right? Right?" asked the young girl.

Gato's hired thugs groaned.

It looked like they would have to continue their illicit activities elsewhere.

They boarded a boat and they sailed away.

"Thank you for your help. I'll name my bridge The Great NRSY Bridge..." said Tazuna.

"Thank you!" exclaimed Ruby.

"We'll visit you sometime." answered Naruto.

"It's time for us to head back to Vale..." said Kakashi.

Naruto, Yang, and Ruby nodded.

Kakashi picked up the unconscious Sasuke and they began to head back home.

 _At Vale Hospital..._

Sasuke woke up.

"What happened? The last thing I remember is being in a fight between that ninja that could control ice..." answered Sasuke.

He remembered unlocking the Sharingan, then sacrificing himself for Yang.

And yet, he was still alive.

"Yes! You're awake! I was worried about you...I appreciate you trying to save me..." answered Yang.

"Did you beat the ice ninja by yourself?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes, I did. It was rather...sad though." stated the blonde.

Sasuke was confused.

"Did you...save Tazuna?" asked the brunette.

"Yes, the mission was a success." answered Yang.

Sasuke sighed in relief.

"I hope I don't have to go on a mission like that for a long while..." stated Sasuke.

"You probably won't. We are just genin after all." noted Yang.

Sasuke nodded. On the lighter side, they would probably be famous amongst their fellow genin for surviving, let alone succeeding at that A-Rank Mission in the first place.

Hopefully he would recover soon. He wanted to go on more missions.

"We'll be waiting for when you recover." stated Yang.

Yang left the hospital room.

Sasuke smiled. It was nice to know that his companions supported him.

He thought that his brother was on his side...but ultimately, it turned out he wasn't.

Hopefully they wouldn't betray him like Itachi had betrayed his clan.

Sasuke went back to sleep.

 _I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I figure I would make Iruka kill Gato because I figured why not have him take revenge on Gato for everything he did? I could have had Zabuza do this but I figure I should deviate from canon in some way. After all, I'm including characters that are from RWBY instead of Naruto so..._

 _In the next chapter, we'll be introduced to some familiar characters that were introduced during the Chunin Exam Arc...plus additional characters from RWBY._


	9. Chapter 9: A Visit From Atlas

_In this chapter, we're going to be introduced to the Sand Siblings...as well as Penny. Yes, she's on the same team as the Sand Siblings._

 _Why is Atlas visiting, you ask? Well, the Chunin Exams are going to be happening soon. You can bet our heroes are looking forward to it._

 _We're also going to be introduced to Neo...personally I think she's kind of flat but I guess I'll include her in my fanfic anyway._

 **Chapter 8: A Visit From Atlas**

Ever since they had succeeded on that A-Rank Mission, it seemed like a lot of other genin had been talking about Naruto and his friends.

Personally he enjoyed the attention, especially after the mistreatment he had received for being the nine-tails jinchuriki.

However, Naruto decided that it would be best if they didn't go on an A-Rank Mission like that again until they were jonin. They were lucky that Zabuza hadn't killed them.

Suddenly, he noticed someone that he didn't recognize as a Vale ninja.

He decided to investigate further by approaching the foreign ninja.

"Can I help you?" asked Temari.

"You're not from Vale..." answered Naruto.

"I'm from Atlas. Whole different kingdom." stated the kunoichi.

"OK..." stated the boy.

Meanwhile, Yang encountered another ninja from Atlas.

"Why are you wearing face paint?" asked Yang.

"Let's just say I'm a bit of an artist." answered Kankuro.

Likewise, Sasuke encountered Gaara.

For some strange reason, he reminded him of Naruto.

He wasn't quite sure why though.

He got the feeling that he wasn't someone that you would like to encounter in a dark alley.

And in Ruby's case, she ended up encountering Penny...by bumping into her.

"Oof!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Whoops! Sorry!" apologized Penny.

"It's OK..." answered the girl.

For some strange reason, Ruby felt like she had bumped into something hard, though she wasn't quite sure why.

"Are you excited for the Chunin Exams? If you graduate, you get to be a chunin!" exclaimed the mysterious girl.

"The Chunin Exams are coming up? I guess that's something to look forward to." answered Ruby.

"Uh-huh!" shouted Penny.

Perhaps she should start getting ready.

She went to inform her teammates.

"The Chunin Exams are coming up?" asked Naruto.

Ruby nodded.

"I guess we should start getting ready for them then." answered the chunin.

Of course, he heard that only seventeen ninja could pass the exams at a time, so he and his team probably wouldn't pass the first time they tried the exams.

Still, at least they would get the chance to hone their skills, right?

 _Meanwhile..._

Roman Torchwick read the newspaper, and found some information that alarmed him.

Apparently, notorious crime lord Gato had been killed by a boy with a crossbow.

It seems that he wanted revenge for killing his adoptive father.

Well, he wasn't going to let that happen to him. He was going to hire a bodyguard to keep him safe.

The only question was...just what ninja should he hire?

There certainly were a lot of candidates.

He decided to settle on one with an umbrella. She reminded him of himself in some ways.

Now all he had to do was wait for her to show up.

Until then, he decided that he was going to gather more dust for his employer. He wasn't looking forward to being lit on fire if he failed her.

Apparently, she was going to use the dust to cause some sort of explosion. He didn't know the details, but he decided not to question what his boss was planning.

 _Elsewhere..._

Jaune Arc decided to check what missions were on the board.

Apparently, there had been more dust robberies lately.

Jaune got the feeling that he knew who was responsible.

However, according to the mission briefing, it had been traced back to the White Fang, a group of Faunus terrorists.

Apparently they had enough of racism and decided to fight back against it.

Personally, Jaune thought they were going about it the wrong way. Rumor had it that the violence started when Adam Taurus was put in charge of enforcing them.

Also, the leader of the White Fang was Sienna Khan, a tiger Faunus.

However, Jaune got the feeling that he shouldn't go after Roman by himself. Sure, he had managed to beat up his thugs, but something told him that Roman would be better prepared for another encounter in the event that they did meet again.

So he decided to ask his teammates if they wanted to go on the mission.

Blake and Kiba nodded, while Hinata raised her hand hesitantly.

"You ready?" asked Jaune.

All three of them nodded.

Together, they went to search for Roman.

Eventually, Hinata found him using her Byakugan.

However, Roman ended up seeing them before they could attack him. There wasn't an element of surprise to be had, unfortunately for the team.

"You again? You already stopped me once, but don't assume it will happen again! This time I brought some help to make sure nothing interrupts my operation here..." said Roman.

Curious, Blake looked around, and noticed something alarming.

As it turned out, Roman was working with the White Fang!

"You're working for the White Fang?" asked Blake.

"Believe me, if I were the one pulling the strings, you would never see me working with those filthy animals." answered Roman.

Jaune wondered what was going on. Was Roman working for someone else? Up until now, he thought Roman was in charge. But apparently there were greater forces at work than a crime lord like him.

Curious, Kiba noticed that Blake glared at Roman when he said that.

"But as it is, I'm getting paid pretty darn well. So you can all beat it!" exclaimed Roman.

As he finished his sentence, Roman tossed his hat like a boomerang at Jaune.

It struck him and he fell down.

"Ow!" exclaimed Jaune. He had been clobbered by a movie reference.

"You OK?" asked Hinata.

"Yeah..." answered the blonde.

The White Fang approached them, when suddenly they noticed Blake.

"Blake?! Our boss would like to have a word with you." answered one of the White Fang members.

"What?!" exclaimed Kiba. How did the White Fang know Blake's name?

Something funky was going on.

Blake summoned several clones and they began to attack the White Fang.

Apparently, Naruto wasn't the only one that could use the technique.

The White Fang found themselves being outnumbered.

"I wish I had the power to copy myself..." noted a White Fang member. His schedule was rather tight.

"C'mon! Surely she made an alliance with you for a reason!" exclaimed Roman.

Again, Jaune wondered who this mysterious lady was.

Roman groaned. It seems that the White Fang weren't trained shinobi like he was.

It looked like he was going to have to step in.

He fired a firework from his cane at Blake.

"Look out!" exclaimed Kiba.

Fortunately for Blake, she managed to jump out of the way.

However, the force of the impact was enough to knock off her bow.

Suddenly, Kiba noticed something odd.

"Blake...why are there cat ears on your head?" asked Kiba.

Blake sighed.

"I suppose I was going to have to tell you sooner or later." answered Blake.

"Tell us what?" asked Jaune.

"I'm...a Faunus." stated the cat girl.

"You are?" inquired Hinata. Now that she thought of it, her eyes DID look like a cat. And she did hear her meowing sometimes when she was reading a library book. Apparently she did that when she was enjoying herself.

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Kiba.

"Well, you've heard what's on the news, Faunus being treated by animals and all that. The Weiss family company in particular likes to use them for cheap labor, which is why they're often targeted by the White Fang." answered Blake.

"We wouldn't treat you like that...you know how I treat Akamaru, don't you?" asked Kiba.

"Bark! Bark!" exclaimed Akamaru.

"Really? You wouldn't?" answered Blake.

Kiba shook his head.

Blake smiled. Her friends were pretty sweet.

"Wait...why were you part of the White Fang? I don't seem to recall you ever being violent." stated Hinata.

"Well, it wasn't always the terrorist organization you see today. It used to be peaceful...but unfortunately Adam Taurus came along and ruined everything...you know the sad part? He wasn't always like this...I wonder what made him snap." answered Blake.

"Um, not that I'm not interested in this discussion, but Roman's getting away!" exclaimed Jaune.

Roman smirked. He was heading straight towards a bulkhead.

"You can't catch me! The authorities have been trying to do it for ages, but I've always gave them the slip! I just love seeing their faces when I do that." answered Roman.

Akamaru pounced on Roman.

He then started to bite him.

"Aah! Get him off me! I just bought this new suit...oh wait, I stole it!" exclaimed Roman.

Kiba attempted to join in.

However, Roman kicked Akamaru away and he slammed into Kiba.

He then tossed some playing cards at the duo.

The crazed catch? These playing cards were as sharp as a razor blade. They weren't the type of cards that you would want to play poker with...unless you were wearing gloves.

Fortunately, Jaune shielded them with what else but his shield.

Roman Torchwick grabbed onto a rope ladder.

"So long, blonde! I hope I don't have to see your ugly face again!" exclaimed Roman.

Jaune Arc groaned.

Roman left the scene.

"Darn it! He got away!" exclaimed Hinata.

"He's been doing this for years..." answered Jaune.

"And unfortunately, I didn't get a good whiff of his scent..." stated Kiba.

Blake sighed.

But on the lighter side, there were several White Fang recruits still unconscious on the ground.

She decided to use her sending scroll to call for some jonin.

They showed up and began loading the White Fang members into bulkheads.

"Hopefully that will slow down the dust robberies..." thought Blake.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Why is she part of our team again?" asked Temari.

"James Ironwood said it was important that we take care of her. Dr. Argent wants her to be safe during the Chunin Exams." answered Kankuro.

Penny was currently relaxing.

"For some strange reason there's something off about the girl...I can't quite put my finger on it." answered the kunoichi.

"Beats me." stated Kankuro.

"Personally I think we're going to crush the competition...we did go through pretty rigorous training at our academy..." said Temari.

"We sure did..." nodded the boy with face paint.

"Personally I feel bad for whoever ends up fighting Gaara in the Chunin Exams..." answered the kunoichi.

Kankuro nodded. Who knows what was going through Gaara's head at the moment. He had a...troubled childhood, to say the very least.

Hopefully he wouldn't turn on them. Fortunately, it didn't seem he was interested in that...at least not yet.

Also, for some strange reason, Gaara had placed the kanji for love on his head. He wasn't sure why he had done that. Was he lonely?

 _Elsewhere..._

Roman Torchwick made his way back to his hideout.

For a moment, he was worried that Jaune Arc was going to catch him.

He wasn't expecting to meet again after he had thwarted the dust robbery, but apparently he had thought wrong.

And to make things worse, they were probably going to encounter each other sooner or later.

Suddenly, he heard knocking on the door.

He sure hoped that it wasn't the police.

He decided to take a look outside.

As it turned out, it was the assassin that he had hired.

Roman opened the door.

"Right this way...unless you're some sort of police officer carrying out a sting operation." answered Roman.

Neo giggled.

"So, what is your name?" asked Roman.

Neo didn't say anything.

"Hello?" answered the man.

Neo still didn't say anything.

"Your name is?" inquired the criminal mastermind.

Neo wasn't saying a word.

Roman groaned.

"Why won't you talk to me?" asked Roman.

Neo sent him a message from her scroll.

"Huh?" inquired the man.

Roman checked the scroll.

"My name is Neo. Pleased to meet you." read Roman out loud.

Roman wondered why Neo wouldn't talk to him. It didn't mention in her profile that she was mute. And yet, she was as silent as a librarian.

On the other hand, he was expecting a guest, so perhaps it was best that she did remain silent while he had a chat with them.

Sure enough, he heard knocking on the door.

Roman answered the door.

However, it wasn't what he was expecting.

"You're not Cin-"

"Nor have I ever been mistaken for her."

Roman took a look at this mysterious individual. Apparently, this man was a snake Faunus. Just looking at him made him shiver with fear. Neo was looking rather uncomfortable as well.

"Wait, you're one of the legendary Sannin! Orochimaru!" exclaimed Roman.

"Yes...however, I've decided instead of being loyal to Vale...I'll instead burn it to the ground." answered Orochmaru.

"You'd burn your own homeland to the ground?!" exclaimed Roman.

"I was promised immortality...and since she kept her word, I figured I would keep mine." stated the Sannin.

Roman was surprised (and somewhat disgusted) how far Orochimaru would go to achieve immortality.

Of course, his boss was willing to go pretty far to achieve her goals herself. Only in her case, she wanted power instead of living forever. Personally he was frightened of her as well. He heard that she had a habit of incinerating her minions when they failed her.

"She figured I would be ideal for this task since I was once a Vale ninja...unfortunately, they found out about my experiments on humans..." answered Orochimaru.

Sweat began to fall down Roman's face.

"I've managed to persuade Atlas to go along with this mission...it seems they're upset about being outsourced by Vale when it came to hunter missions..." said the Sannin.

"You managed to get Atlas to turn on Vale?" asked Roman.

"Yes...eventually, we'll be ready to launch the invasion...it will be at the finale of the Chunin Exams..." answered Orochimaru.

"I see..." nodded the man.

"Keep gathering the dust. The White Fang will need it if they want to take care of the ninja guarding Vale..." stated the Sannin.

"You're working for the White Fang?" asked Roman.

"Yes. I figured if humans treated Faunus like animals, I would return the favor and use them as my guinea pigs. I decided to join the White Fang, since they would provide me with human prisoners to satisfy my needs..." answered Orochimaru.

Roman supposed that made sense.

"Aside from attacking Vale, I plan on obtaining the Sharingan." stated the Sannin.

"The Sharingan? How are you going to do that? The Uchiha clan are extinct!" exclaimed Roman.

"Almost extinct. I once tried to take the Sharingan from the Uchiha clan member that orchestrated their genocide, but unfortunately he managed to elude capture. However, he has a younger brother that should be a much easier target." answered Orochimaru.

"Why do you want the Sharingan?" inquired the man.

"Having the Sharingan will accelerate my plans to obtain all jutsu. Let's just say there's a reason why I decided to seek immortality." answered the man.

Now that Roman thought of it, just how many jutsu were there? He was only chunin-level at best, though to compensate his partner Neo was definitely jonin-level.

"I look forward to the day that I get to kill the Third Hokage...he'll regret not killing his pupil when he had the chance..." said Orochimaru.

Orochimaru transformed into a snake and slithered out the door.

Roman wondered how exactly Orochimaru had transformed into a snake.

Then again, he heard that there were two people that could transform into a crow and a raven, respectively. Apparently it was a gift from an old wizard...personally he would rather have lots of money than transform into an animal.

Roman thought to himself what he had gotten himself into. First a pyromaniac, and now a mad scientist.

Well, it was too late to back out now. He was going to play a hand in destroying Vale whether he liked it or not.

 _Oh dear. It seems that there's a conspiracy at work here...you remember the Konoha Crush, don't you? Many ninja were lost that day...including the Third Hokage himself. What a tragedy._

 _Of course, since there are RWBY characters in this fanfic as well as Naruto characters, perhaps the Konoha Crush will turn out differently. You never know._


	10. Chapter 10: Grimm Eclipse

_Since RWBY has its own video game now I think I'll include a character from that video game...I think he'll be one of the villains in the fanfic. You know, because he's a mad scientist._

 **Chapter 10: Grimm Eclipse**

Nora frantically searched for assignments that she and her friends could take. Shikamaru was dozing off and she wanted him to stop being a slacker and do some work.

Ren wasn't a slacker, thank goodness, but he didn't seem as enthusiastic about doing shinobi work than she was.

Eventually, she found something interesting...but it was also alarming.

Apparently, someone had sabotaged the security network around Emerald Forest. People were worried that Grimm would eventually reach Konoha if it wasn't repaired.

And since Grimm thrived off of fear, they probably would stop to pay them a visit eventually.

Fortunately, none of the Grimm in Emerald Forest were very strong (to her knowledge, anyway), so it seemed that it was a mission that wasn't beyond their capabilities.

So she volunteered for the mission.

"Hey everyone! We're going to Emerald Forest!" exclaimed Nora.

"Didn't Sensei Asuma send us there during our training?" asked Shikamaru.

 _"Remember not to use the shadow grab technique too much, or you'll all your chakra." stated Asuma._

 _Shikamaru nodded. He couldn't afford to be reckless against the forces of darkness._

 _Fortunately, it seemed that the Beowulves weren't too bright, as they made no effort to avoid being caught by the shadows._

 _This of course made them sitting ducks for Nora, who slammed them with her hammer._

 _"Yah!" exclaimed Nora._

 _"This is getting boring." said Shikamaru._

 _"Remember Shikamaru...these Grimm may be impulsive and reckless...but the older a Grimm gets, the stronger and smarter they become." said Asuma._

 _Shikamaru nodded. Apparently, these Grimm they were fighting were the young ones._

"I guess we're going there again!" exclaimed Nora.

"I don't see why not." answered Ino.

Ren pulled out his weapons.

Shikamaru sighed and got ready to head to Emerald Forest as well.

It didn't take them long to get there. Emerald Forest wasn't far from Beacon Academy.

Sure enough, they spotted a Beowulf. Thankfully, it wasn't leaving the confines of the forest.

Nora quickly crushed it with her hammer, causing it to burst into dark mist.

"Yahoo!" exclaimed Nora.

"Good job." said Ren.

However, Ino noticed that there was another Beowulf nearby.

Also present was an Ursa.

There was also a King Taijutu.

"Is it just me, or are there more Grimm here than before?" asked Ino.

"I think the security systems may be going haywire like the mission said..." stated Shikamaru.

Fortunately, despite the number increase, the four of them could still handle the Grimm.

Ino fired a blast of psychic energy at a Beowulf, causing it to burst into psychic energy.

Nora once again smashed a Grimm with her hammer. However, it was an Ursa this time.

Ren stabbed the white head of a King Taijutu with his blades (aka Stormflower) while Shikamaru used his shadow powers to deliver a nasty punch to the black head, causing it to burst into black and white mist.

"Yes!" exclaimed Nora.

Afterwards, they began to search for the security network control center.

Eventually, they did find it...in the center of the forest.

Curious, they noticed that there were two robots nearby.

They were holding Grimm in cages.

"What's going on?" asked Shikamaru.

"I don't know, but they don't look like any Atlas robot I've ever seen." answered Ino. These robots were as red as blood.

The robots left with the captured Grimm, leaving the four alone.

"You don't suppose they're the ones who tampered with the control network, do you?" asked the blonde.

"I don't know, but I don't think there's anything stopping us from fixing it, so I guess we might as well get to work." answered Shikamaru.

However, as soon as Shikamaru approached the computer system, they suddenly heard a loud screeching.

"What was that?" asked Shikamaru.

"It doesn't sound good..." answered Ren.

As it turned out, it was a Nevermore.

"Good grief! This Grimm is huge!" exclaimed Ino. She had seen various Grimm, but never before had she seen a Grimm of that size. How big could Grimm grow to be, anyway?

"It must have realized what we were doing and now it's trying to stop us!" shouted Nora.

Quickly, Shikamaru attempted to grab onto the Nevermore with his shadow so that it couldn't attack him or his teammates.

However, the Nevermore noticed what he was doing, and it flapped its wings to blow Shikamaru away, causing him to lose focus and stop the jutsu.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Shikamaru.

Suddenly, he remembered what his sensei had told him regarding the Grimm.

"He was right." answered the ninja.

The Nevermore followed by grabbing onto Ren with its talons.

"Ren!" exclaimed Nora.

It then dropped him on the ground on top of Ino.

"Ow!" shouted Ino. That was painful.

The Nevermore then followed by launching feathers at the foursome.

Quickly, they moved around to avoid them.

The Nevermore then let out a screech, and more Grimm showed up.

"That's not good." answered Ren.

One of the Beowulves bit Nora in the arm.

"Ow!" exclaimed Nora.

An Ursa scratched Shikamaru in the face.

"Ouch!" bellowed Shikamaru.

Angered, Nora zapped the Nevermore with electricity.

The Nevermore screeched in pain.

"That was good, Nora! Keep at it!" exclaimed Ren.

Nora smiled.

Ren used his legs to kick a Beowulf in the face, causing it to burst into dark mist.

This was followed by Shikamaru using his Shadow Strangle technique to break an Ursa's neck. It too dissolved into black mist.

"I wonder why Grimm dissolve into black mist after we kill them." questioned Nora.

"It's as if somebody doesn't want us to study their bodies..." answered Shikamaru. It was perplexing.

Now that they thought of it, didn't Grimm usually die when they were in captivity? It made it hard to study them.

They were strange creatures, the Grimm.

The Nevermore dived towards Nora. Apparently he saw her as the biggest threat.

However, Ren would be having none of that.

As soon as the Nevermore dove towards Nora, Ren jumped on top of the bird and started stabbing it.

The Nevermore frantically attempted to shake him off.

Ren wouldn't let go, and he stabbed the Nevermore in the face.

The Nevermore collapsed on the ground, stunned.

Ino then fired bursts of psychic energy at the Nevermore.

The Nevermore burst into feathers and black mist.

"Yay! We won!" exclaimed Nora.

"That bird was tougher than the Grimm we've fought before." noted Ren.

"I guess we're getting stronger." answered Shikamaru.

At that very moment, they heard applauding.

"Hmm?" inquired Nora.

"Good work. I was a bit worried that you wouldn't be able to handle a Grimm of that size...but you ultimately proved me wrong." answered Asuma.

The four of them bowed to Asuma.

Shikamaru went to work fixing the security network.

When he was done, he noticed that things at the Emerald Forest had turned to normal.

"Looks like we're done here." answered Shikamaru.

"Did you find out what happened to the control center?" asked Asuma.

"I think those two robots might have sabotaged it...also, they were carrying Grimm in cages." answered Ren.

"Robots?" inquired the man.

"Yeah...they were red. I don't think they were affiliated with Atlas..." stated Ino.

"I'll have to talk to the Third Hokage about that." answered Asuma. On the lighter side, it didn't seem that Atlas was responsible for this, even though they were present for the Chunin Exams.

Immediately, he leapt away in order to do so.

"I guess we should go back home too." answered Shikamaru.

It looked like their mission was accomplished.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Has the security network been repaired?" asked the Third Hokage.

Currently, he was in his office along with his advisor.

"Yes...my students took care of that. However, there was something strange. My four students claimed that they saw two robots...robots that weren't affiliated with Atlas. They were a peculiar red." answered Asuma.

"Red?" questioned Hiruzen.

Ozpin scratched his head.

"Do you know something?" asked the Third Hokage.

"Those robots you mentioned seem familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it." answered Ozpin.

"I see..." acknowledged Hiruzen.

"If another one of our security networks is sabotaged, I'll have to look into the matter further." stated the man.

Asuma nodded. Perhaps Ozpin will post another mission for the genin.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Do you know what the first test for the Chunin Exams is going to be?" asked Naruto.

"I think it's going to be a written exam." answered Ruby.

"A written exam? I wonder what the questions are going to be like." stated the genin.

"Perhaps they'll have something to do with being a shinobi...or a huntsman." stated the kunoichi. Of course, she did both for a living, hunting Grimm and supporting her kingdom.

"They probably will." answered the teenage boy.

Unfortunately, they didn't say what they were going to be studying for. It was confusing.

Hopefully they would find out in time.

For now, they were going to continue doing their ninja training. It was what Kakashi Sensei would want them to do.

"By the way, did you hear what happened at the Emerald Forest? It seemed that someone sabotaged the security network..." said Naruto.

"They did? That's no good. We need that forest to do our training. We can't do that if it's overrun with Grimm." answered Ruby. An individual Grimm typically wasn't much of a threat, but a horde of them could cause them serious trouble.

"Yeah...fortunately, Team SINR managed to repair it." answered the genin.

"They did? Whew!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Still, I wonder who would want to sabotage such a thing. I don't think the Grimm in Emerald Forest have ever thought of doing that." stated Naruto. Of course, apparently one of the Grimm did attempt to stop them from repairing the control center, but that was one of the older ones.

"Yeah. It's really weird." answered the kunoichi.

 _Elsewhere..._

"I'm looking forward to creaming some losers at the Chunin Exams. I can hardly wait!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Hold your horses, Cardin. It says according to the rules of the Chunin Exams, you have to pass a written exam first." answered Pyrrha.

"A written exam? That sounds boring. Can't I just copy off your paper?" asked the teenage boy.

"I don't know, Cardin. I get the feeling that the teachers have thought of that." answered Sun.

"I'm still gonna. They can't catch me." stated Cardin.

"But if you get caught, you risk getting us all kicked out of the exams...we can't go on with three people. We need four." stated Neptune.

"I won't get caught. Just trust me." answered the bully.

"Are you going to blow spitballs at Jaune? You seem to like bullying him." stated Pyrrha.

"You bet I will!" exclaimed Cardin.

"I don't know, you might make his friends angry." answered Sun.

"Relax! What's the worst that they can do?" asked the bully.

"You'd be surprised." answered Pyrrha.

"Why haven't you tried bullying? You're the popular one! I've heard you've won tournaments before!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Yes, I have. However, I believe that being a ninja means protecting your kingdom...and of course, being a huntress means protecting your kingdom from the Grimm. I don't see how bullying people qualifies as protection." answered Pyrrha.

"The only protection I need is my mace! I'd like to see a Grimm get close to me!" shouted the bully.

Pyrrha sighed. Cardin was just so full of himself. Why were they on the same team anyway?

Well, at least he was useful to them. His brute strength complimented Sun's speed and her intellect as well as Neptune's...coolness?

Perhaps he was on their team because his electrical weapon made him good for support.

That, and he was friends with Sun, giving them a morality advantage.

 _Elsewhere..._

"You think you're ready for the Chunin Exams?" asked Yang.

"I did pretty well at Signal Academy. I think I'll be fine." answered Sasuke.

"If you say so." answered the blonde.

"Besides, I can't afford to be weak. My brother is still alive." stated the brunette.

"Wait...you're not an only child like me?" asked Yang. What a coincidence. She was under the impression that Sasuke was an only child given that he didn't seem willing to socialize with others.

"I wish I was." answered Sasuke.

"Huh?" asked the blonde.

"Do you know how my clan died? They were wiped out from my brother...he thought that they were little more than target practice." stated the brunette.

"That's horrible!" exclaimed Yang.

Now that she thought of it, her mother probably wasn't a saint herself. She heard that she was the leader of a bandit tribe. Then again, it was just a rumor.

"I know...that's why I'm trying to get stronger...so I can avenge my family." answered Sasuke.

"I can't believe your own brother would do that for such petty reasons." stated Yang.

"Me neither. But I suppose that's just how it is. Unfortunately, as it is, I don't think I'll be able to defeat him." stated the teenage boy.

"That's too bad." answered the blonde. She probably wouldn't be able to beat her own mother in a fight either. But on the lighter side, she hadn't given her a reason to fight her, either.

Of course, her uncle Qrow would probably be able to take her on, but something told her that she had some sort of hidden power under her sleeve. It was just a hunch.

Sasuke pulled out his scroll and showed Yang a picture of his brother, as well as the bounty on his head.

"Wow...if someone ever caught him, they'd never have to go on a mission for money ever again!" exclaimed Yang.

"Unfortunately, nobody has ever caught him. I'd like to kill him myself, but I suppose if he's executed in public I could live with that." answered Sasuke.

"Yeah...I have to wonder though...why did he spare you if he didn't spare your parents, as well as his own?" asked the blonde.

"That is something that I don't know. But it's his mistake." answered Sasuke.

"Right..." nodded Yang.

 _Elsewhere..._

Rock Lee was busy practicing on a training dummy.

"What makes you think you'll do well at the Chunin Exams? You can't even use genjutsu or ninjutsu." pointed out Neji.

"Don't be like that, Neji." answered Weiss.

"Yeah! Give him a chance!" exclaimed Sakura.

Suddenly, Rock Lee went over to Weiss.

"Hey, Weiss! I got these for you!" exclaimed Rock Lee.

Curious, Weiss noticed that Rock Lee had given her flowers.

"Um, thanks." answered Weiss.

Rock Lee blew Weiss a kiss.

"Um..." stated the white-haired girl.

"I love you, Weiss!" exclaimed Rock Lee.

Weiss raised an eyebrow.

Rock Lee was sweet, but she didn't think he was her type. He was more like a brother to her.

Speaking of siblings, her actual brother wasn't such a saint. He seemed rather pouty, like the time that he didn't get the toy that he wanted. He already had lots of toys from when he was younger.

Then again, it was probably her father that raised him this way. She was starting to see why her sister Winter decided not to let her father decide who she wanted to be.

"You want me to get you some chocolate?" asked Rock Lee.

"I appreciate the thought, but shouldn't you be focusing on your training?" inquired Weiss.

"For you I'd do a thousand pushups!" exclaimed the martial artist.

"That seems kind of extreme..." answered the white-haired girl.

She had trouble socializing with her teammates at first, since she lived a rather sheltered life. Apparently, her father thought she should only hang out with other rich people. The common crowd were simply too vulgar.

Personally she thought he was wrong. Perhaps it was good that she went to Signal Academy. However, it took a lot of persuasion for her father to take her there. Was she some sort of possession to him? Whenever she asked him for a hug, he seemed rather reluctant to do so.

Now that she thought of it, he had disinherited Winter when he found out that she wanted to be part of the Atlas military. Why couldn't he let her have more freedom? Personally she felt like she was trapped in a gilded cage sometimes.

Well, now that she actually had friends, perhaps things would turn out better for her.

Hopefully she could make the world a better place, even if her father discouraged her from being a shinobi.

Let's just hope that she didn't get disinherited like her older sister.

 _I think I'll include Jacques Schnee in my fanfic along with the rest of Weiss's family sometime in my fanfic...even if I don't like Jacques Schnee or his son. He's bound to engage in something villainous sooner or later._

 _In the next chapter, the written exams will begin._


	11. Chapter 11: Written Exam

_In this chapter, our heroes are going to take the first part of the Chunin Exams. Who will pass? Who will fail? You'll see._

 _Also, we're going to be introduced to Kabuto. You probably know who he is, of course._

 **Chapter 11: Written Exam**

"Today's the day we're going to get to enter the first part of the Chunin Exams!" exclaimed Naruto.

"I still wonder what the second part of the Chunin Exams will be like." answered Ruby. All she knew was that it wasn't going to be a written exam like the first part of the test.

Yang and Sasuke followed Naruto and Ruby into the classroom where the exams were being held.

As it turned out, Glynda Goodwitch was in charge of the first part of the exam.

"Good morning, class. I sincerely hope that you aren't planning to cheat, because if you get caught five times by the chunin, you will be kicked out of the exams. I suggest you stay on your best behavior." answered Glynda.

Naruto wondered why they were allowed to cheat four times. It was strange.

Glynda Goodwitch used her telekinesis powers to hand out pieces of paper.

However, for some strange reason, the questions didn't seem to have anything to do with being a ninja.

Naruto wondered what was going on.

Not only that, but he couldn't seem to answer any of them. They were making his head ache.

"When time's up, I'll ask you a tenth question. For now, I suggest you work on the nine questions." answered Glynda.

Ruby was doing rather well, even if the questions weren't something that were related to ninjas and huntsmen.

Sasuke was doing rather good as well. However, Naruto got the feeling that he was using the Sharingan to cheat.

Yang was doing OK, though not as good as Ruby.

Naruto sighed.

For a moment he considered risking it all on the tenth question...

...however, he decided that might not be enough for him to pass.

He decided to raise his hand.

"Yes, Naruto?" asked Glynda.

"Can the rest of my team go without me? I can't answer any of these questions and my team is doing a lot better than me..." answered Naruto.

"Team NRSY, can you step outside the classroom?" asked Ms. Goodwitch.

"Don't tell me you got us kicked out of the exams, Naruto." answered Sasuke.

"What? I wasn't cheating..." stated Naruto.

Team NRSY left the classroom.

"Congratulations. You all pass." answered Ms. Goodwitch.

"What?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Well, clearly you were willing to put your teammates ahead of yourself, so I decided you deserved to go on to the second stage of the exam. And knowing your friends, they were probably willing to do the same. " stated the lady.

"Way to go, Naruto!" shouted Ruby.

"Ah, I see..." answered Yang.

"The next part of the exams will be a week from now." stated Glynda.

Team NRSY nodded.

For now, they decided to go back home to relax.

Meanwhile, Jaune and Hinata were doing pretty well. Both of them were too noble to cheat on the test, even if the latter did have the Byakugan.

Curious, Kankuro noticed that Penny's eyes were glowing strangely. He wondered what was going on.

As it turned out, Penny had managed to solve all nine questions.

Temari had managed to solve all nine of her questions as well.

Though he was mentally unstable, Gaara had also managed to solve his nine questions. However, he got the feeling that he had used his Third Eye ability to cheat.

Kankuro had done the same with a camera recorder in Crow.

Unlike Hinata, Neji wasn't too noble to not cheat on a test. He was using his Byakugan to peek on test answers, even though some students had been caught already.

Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha had managed to answer all nine questions without cheating.

Sakura had done so as well.

Cardin for some strange reason had a parrot on his shoulder.

"Why is there a parrot on your shoulder?" asked Sun.

"This is my parrot, Elizabeth. I figured that I couldn't simply look at other people's papers without getting caught, so I figured I would use a parrot to collect the answers for it. Isn't it brilliant?" asked Cardin.

"We're going to pass the exam! Skrawk!" exclaimed Elizabeth.

"OK..." answered the monkey Faunus.

Sun and Neptune had managed to answer about half of the questions.

Tenten was rather smart and had answered seven of the questions.

Rock Lee was too noble to cheat on the test, so he had answered six.

Blake had managed to answer eight of the nine questions without cheating. Seems she was a smart girl.

Akamaru had helped Kiba answer seven of the questions.

Shino had used his bugs to successfully cheat.

Shikamaru was slacking off. He had answered all nine of his questions in no time flat without cheating, so he had a lot of free time on his hands.

Of course, he would want to wake up before the final question.

Choji had answered five of the nine questions without cheating.

Sakura had just finished answering all nine of her questions, when suddenly the ink she had placed on her paper had disappeared.

"Hey!" exclaimed Sakura.

That ink in question had gone to Sai, who now had all nine questions to his test.

Fortunately, Sakura managed to answer all nine of the questions before time was up.

However, Ino Yamanaka managed to copy the answers from her by using her mind transfer jutsu.

Eventually, time was up.

"Are you all finished with your tests? Good. Then it's time for the final question...but I'm afraid I also have a warning. If you answer the tenth question incorrectly, you fail the Chunin Exams. Forever." answered Glynda.

"What?!" exclaimed several of the genin taking the exams.

"I'm afraid so. You'll never have the opportunity to become chunin again. You'll be stuck as a genin for the rest of your lives." stated the sorceress.

Several genin gulped.

"However, I'll give you a chance. If you wish you can leave the exams and try again in six months. I won't penalize you for that." answered Glynda.

Sure enough, several genin did just that. Apparently, the idea of failing the tenth question was too much for them.

However, others were willing to take the risk.

Hinata wasn't one of them.

She was about to raise her hand, but Jaune stopped her.

"Hinata, wait!" whispered Jaune.

"Huh?" asked Hinata.

"I think this might be a trick..." said the blonde.

"Huh?" inquired the kunoichi.

"Think about it. If someone had the capability to become a jonin, why would they deny them that and force them to remain a genin?" questioned Jaune.

"Huh. I guess I didn't think things through." answered Hinata.

"Alright, you chose to remain despite the risks. Regarding the tenth question...are you ready to become chunin?" asked Glynda.

"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Neptune.

"The tenth question was a secret test of character. I applaud Jaune Arc for calling my bluff." stated the blonde.

Jaune smiled.

"Wait, what was the point of the other nine questions?" asked Cardin.

"Don't tell me you were wasting our time..." answered Neji.

"I wasn't. I was just testing your intellect...as well as your information gathering skills...of course, some of you weren't willing to cheat. It doesn't matter. I checked to see whether the ninja were obviously cheating or not, and if they weren't, I allowed them to continue in the exams." explained Glynda.

"I see. One more question, what happened to Team NRSY?" asked Hinata.

"Oh that...I figured that since they were willing to put their team before themselves, they deserved to pass the first part of the exam." answered the blonde teacher.

Jaune nodded. Apparently they did deserve that.

"The next part of the exams will be in a week. I suggest you prepare before then. It's going to be dangerous." stated Glynda.

The genin who had passed the exams looked nervous when Glynda said that.

Then again, ninja should be willing to risk their lives for their kingdoms.

 _A few minutes later..._

Qrow contacted Ruby on her scroll.

"Hey there, Ruby. Congratulations on passing the Chunin Exams. I'd congratulate you in person, but if there's anyone whose fallen victim to Murphy's Law, it's me. Darn it! I just dropped the scroll! Well, at least I didn't break it." said Qrow.

Qrow drank his beer. It always helped him whenever he felt sad...which happened a lot due to his semblance.

"Yes!" cheered Ruby.

Likewise, Naruto and Sasuke were congratulated by Kakashi. Only it was in person.

"Congratulations on passing the Chunin Exams. I have a feeling that you will both become great ninja." said Kakashi.

Naruto and Sasuke smiled. It was good that they were getting support from their sensei.

Likewise, Yang was approached by a mysterious individual, who also congratulated her from passing the exam.

"Congratulations on passing the exams. I'm gathering information about ninja in case you were wondering. My name is Kabuto." said Kabuto.

"OK?" answered Yang.

"Would you mind telling me a bit about yourself?" inquired the white-haired ninja.

"Well, I happen to be good at fire release techniques. I happen to be pretty strong and I also prefer fist fighting." stated the fist fighter.

"I see." answered Kabuto.

Kabuto added the information to his ninja info cards.

"Thank you for your time." said the bespectacled ninja.

Kabuto left.

Yang wondered who the man was.

 _Elsewhere..._

"Good job, Rock Lee. Keep it up and you'll be a chunin in no time!" exclaimed Might Guy.

Rock Lee smiled. He had made his sensei proud.

"I already know that I'm going to pass the chunin exams and become a chunin. It's my destiny." said Neji.

"What makes you so sure of that?" asked Weiss.

"I'm a prodigy...even if I'm not part of the Hyuga main house. I'm sure I'll be able to pass." answered the ninja.

"If you say so." answered Sakura.

"I already know that if I end up fighting Rock Lee during the exams, I will be able to beat him." stated Neji.

"What makes you so sure?" asked Rock Lee.

"Every time we fight, you lose. Have you forgotten that? It's your destiny." answered the ninja.

"There's a first time for everything!" exclaimed the martial artist.

Neji simply scoffed.

Personally Weiss enjoyed hanging out with her team, even though she was hoping that Pyrrha would be on hers. They called her the invincible warrior. She would have loved to be on the battlefield with her.

However, she got the feeling that Neji could turn violent if she provoked him.

She couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

 _Meanwhile..._

"I'm glad I didn't bail out of the Chunin Exams. That would have disappointed my team." answered Hinata.

"It's OK if you were nervous...I was feeling nervous doing the written exam too. But I think I did pretty good." stated Jaune.

"I knew Akamaru and I could do it!" exclaimed Kiba.

"I was kind of nervous being amongst so many humans..." answered Blake.

"Not everyone in there was human. Remember Sun?" asked Jaune.

"Yeah..." stated the cat.

Now that she thought of it, she seemed to recall seeing a Faunus that she knew when she was taking the exam.

She couldn't remember who it was though.

 _Elsewhere..._

"You think I'll get to be a chunin someday, grandpa?" asked Konohamaru.

"If you keep trying, you probably will. Just don't get too reckless on missions...a lot of ninjas die because of that." answered the Third Hokage.

Konohamaru nodded.

Considering his grandfather was a Hokage and his uncle was a jonin, he got the feeling that he had a bright future ahead of him.

Either way, he was going to graduate from Signal Academy someday.

Now that he thought of it, he heard that there was a blonde boy who wanted to be Hokage.

Was he going to succeed someday?

 _Speaking of the blonde boy..._

"Are you looking forward to becoming a chunin? That's assuming that we pass the exams of course. They only let the very best of genin be chunin." noted Ruby.

"I suppose they do. Personally I want to be the Hokage!" exclaimed Naruto.

"You want to be the Hokage?" asked Ruby.

"Yes! Apparently, that was who my dad was...he was the Fourth Hokage." answered the genin.

"I heard that you were orphaned...you must be lonely. I grew up without a mother myself." said Ruby.

Ruby sighed.

"I feel your pain..." stated Naruto.

"Personally I would like to be headmaster at Beacon Academy." spoke the kunoichi.

"The headmaster?" asked the genin.

"Yeah...that's where ninja go to train themselves when they're not with their instructors." answered Ruby.

Naruto nodded.

"I see..." said the boy.

"They say I'm a prodigy so maybe I could handle the responsibility." stated the girl.

"I wish you good luck then." answered Naruto.

"And I wish you good luck too." stated Ruby.

Naruto and Ruby high-fived.

 _Elsewhere..._

"We did it! Skrawk!" exclaimed Elizabeth.

"Ha! I knew I would pass the exam!" shouted Cardin.

"Didn't you pass the exam because you cheated?" asked Pyrrha.

"What does it matter? It was all a secret test of character! Even if I didn't answer nine of the ten questions, I still would have passed!" exclaimed the bully.

"True...it would have been a lot more impressive if you hadn't cheated on the test though." answered Pyrrha.

"Whatever! I'm not a smartypants like you!" bellowed Cardin.

"I just wanted to be like my professor. He's a smart man." stated the spearwoman.

"I'm just surrounded by nerds." answered the bully.

"I'm not a nerd!" exclaimed Neptune.

"But you're scared of the water, like a little baby." stated Cardin.

"Hey! There's Grimm living in the ocean! Have you ever seen a Leviathan?" asked Neptune.

"You mean those Grimm that totally aren't based off of the shark from Steven Spielberg's horror movie?" inquired Cardin.

"Yes! Those!" exclaimed the blue-haired boy.

"Whatever!" answered the bully.

"Since we have a week before the second part of the Chunin Exams, why don't we start another mission? We'll get stronger if we manage to pull it off." stated Sun.

Cardin nodded. He wanted to fight some more Grimm.

He looked at his scroll to see if there were any more missions.

Apparently, there was something wrong with the security network at Forever Fall.

"Wasn't there a security breach at Emerald Forest not too long ago?" asked Cardin.

History had a habit of repeating itself.

Well, if he got to fight Grimm, he was all for it.

Besides, he could use that opportunity to pull a prank.

He tapped on the mission.

 _Meanwhile, outside of Vale..._

Orochimaru pulled out a picture of Sasuke Uchiha. Soon, he would have the opportunity to strike.

"Do you want us to capture the boy, sir?" asked Adam Taurus. Adam Taurus was Orochimaru's chief enforcer. Wouldn't want anyone trying to ruin his experiments.

"I'll deal with him myself. Since he's filled with hatred for his brother, I think he'll be well-suited for one of my cursed seals." answered Orochimaru. If the person receiving the cursed seal only had love in their heart, the cursed seal would gradually disappear until it faded away entirely. But if it someone had hatred in their heart, it would only get stronger, and eventually it would corrupt their minds.

It of course, would also make them subservient to Orochimaru, unless they had enough of a strong will. But he got the feeling that he could take control of Sasuke, at least long enough for him to have access to his Sharingan eyes.

Having the Sharingan would make learning all the jutsu in Remnant would make his life so much easier.

"By the way, have you implanted your spy into Vale? Of course, you already said that you knew your way around the kingdom pretty well, considering you had lived there up until ten years ago." stated Adam.

"Yes, I have." nodded Orochimaru. "I've also sent my personal White Fang ninja into the exams as well. Of course, three of them are human, which Sienna Khan wouldn't approve of, but I figured, why hate humans when you can dominate them instead?"

Adam Taurus nodded in agreement.

"They wouldn't dream of betraying me...heck, they might even be willing to die for me." noted the former Vale ninja.

"I'm sure they're loyal." answered Adam.

"Of course they are. I gave them everything they ever wanted...and more." stated Orochimaru. He just loved twisting people's minds.

Well, that, and experimenting on others.

The following week, his plan would be put into action.

He just hoped that the Third Hokage didn't get in the way. He knew him better than anyone.

After all, he was his former pupil.

 _Well, it looks like our heroes (well, protagonists, Cardin and Neji aren't heroes...at least not yet) have managed to pass the first part of the exams. The second part will begin next week._

 _That part of course will take place in the Forest Of Death. That forest sounds lovely. Not!_

 _But before we do that, I think I'll feature Forever Fall in my fanfic. It's a much more lively forest. It does however at least have a few Grimm living there, if that Ursa Matriarch is any indication. Perhaps it was attracted to Cardin's negativity, not the sap that was on his chest. Last time I checked, Grimm don't require sustenance._


	12. Chapter 12: Forever Fall

_In this chapter, Team PWNS are going to visit Forever Fall. Once again, it seems that a security network has been compromised. We don't want Grimm taking over the forest._

 _And yes, there will be Ursa. I don't always deviate from canon, though I tried to be creative with this fanfic._

 **Chapter 12: Forever Fall**

"I sure like the scenery here." noted Pyrrha.

"Yeah...it really makes the forest look lovely." answered Neptune. Personally he wondered why the forest didn't change regardless of season.

Though there were Grimm, it seemed that they weren't yet aware of their presence.

However, that would likely change as they approached the security network control center.

Since there weren't Grimm at the moment, Cardin decided to pull a prank.

"Psst, Sun!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Huh?" asked Sun.

"I'm going to pull a prank on Pyrrha for being a know-it-all!" shouted the bully.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." answered the monkey. What would she think?

"C'mon! It will be funny!" exclaimed Cardin.

Cardin was collecting tree sap in a jar.

"I'm going to be dumping it all over Pyrrha!" shouted the bully.

"Don't be mean..." answered Sun, grabbing onto the jar.

"But it'll be hilarious!" exclaimed Cardin.

"I won't!" shouted Sun, tugging on the jar

Cardin and Sun continued to play tug-of-war with the jar.

Unfortunately for Cardin, it opened up and splashed the red sap all over him.

"Well, this is rather ironic." noted Sun.

"Grr..." said Cardin. Who else but a monkey Faunus to humiliate him?

Cardin's parrot Elizabeth began to lick at the sap.

Suddenly, they heard a growling noise.

Sun looked and noticed that there was an Ursa Major nearby.

"That's not good..." answered the monkey.

"Huh?" inquired Cardin.

Cardin looked behind him, and gasped.

"That is one big Ursa..." said Cardin.

"Uh-oh!" exclaimed Elizabeth.

Cardin attempted to swing his mace against the Ursa Major, but it swiped it away.

"Um, a little help here?" asked Cardin. Cardin was reluctant to admit it, but he might be in over his head here.

Pyrrha approached Cardin.

"There you are! Save me!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Cardin wanted to dump red sap on you." answered Sun.

"Did you now?" asked Pyrrha.

"I apologize! Now help me!" shouted the bully.

"The first thing you should do is not panic. The Grimm savor that." said the teenage girl.

Curious, Sun noticed that the Ursa Major was licking its lips as sweat came down Cardin's face.

Cardin tried to calm himself down, causing the older Ursa to falter.

"Its back is covered in armor, so try attacking it from the front." stated Pyrrha.

Cardin nodded and punched the Ursa Major in the gut, causing it to stagger.

"Very good! You can have your mace back." said the spearwielder.

Suddenly, Cardin found his mace back in his hand.

"How'd you do that?" asked Cardin.

"Oh, that. You seem, I happen to have a Kekkei Genkai. It lets me mix earth and wind chakra together to control magnetism." explained Pyrrha.

"I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth." stated the bully.

Cardin whacked the Ursa Major in the chest, wounding it.

"There are others such as Ice Release, which combines water and wind." said the kunoichi. Weiss Schnee had access to that ability, apparently.

Cardin then hit the Ursa Major on the head.

The Ursa Major tried to bite him, but he punched its fangs out.

"The reason why I'm called the invincible warrior...well, most of the time, people use metal weapons against me, so I can control them to keep myself out of harm's way. I do have a lot of chakra though."

Cardin hit the Ursa Major one last time, but it burst into chakra.

"I never thought I would say this, but I'm glad but you're a know-it-all. I just wish you weren't so two brothersdang perfect!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Just for the record, I had to work hard to get where I am today. Back when I was a toddler, I could only lift a fork with my powers at best. Of course, nowadays I could lift a car if I wanted to...but thst's not the point." stated Pyrrha.

"Oh really?" asked the bully. Perhaps he was wrong about his teammate.

"Is Cardin OK? I heard him calling for help." answered Neptune.

"It's OK, he took care of the Ursa Major attacking him...with my advice." stated Pyrrha.

Cardin smiled.

However, other Ursa seemed to have heard the commotion.

In addition, there were spider Grimm approaching them. They had several eyes and eight legs, and were black with a white face mask like other Grimm.

"Huh? What Grimm are these? I don't think I've seen them before." answered Sun.

"They're called Black Widows. They like to wrap up their prey in webs then suck their blood. That prey are humans and Faunus." explained Pyrrha.

Neptune gulped.

Sure enough, the Black Widows seemed to have saliva coming from their mouths.

"I'm not becoming spider food! I'm squishing them!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Be careful, Cardin. Older Black Widows have been known to be poisonous...the poison will gradually eat away at your chakra until it dissolves...there have been ninja who have been killed by black widow bites." warned Pyrrha.

"Yeah yeah yeah." answered Cardin.

Immediately, Cardin used his mace to smash the Black Widows like bugs.

Oh wait, spiders weren't bugs. They were arachnids. Bugs never had eight legs. They had six.

For a while, this was effective.

However, what appeared to be a Black Widow Matriarch appeared.

She immediately instructed the Black Widows to fall back.

"What are they doing?" asked Cardin.

They then began shooting webs at Cardin from a distance.

Unfortunately, though he was strong enough to break free from the webs, it seems he couldn't get close to the Black Widows anymore.

"How am I supposed to approach them without being blanketed with webbing?" asked Cardin.

"Allow me." answered Pyrrha.

Pyrrha launched her shield at the Black Widows who were fighting from a distance.

It cut several of them down.

Since she had power over magnetism, she then had the shield return to her.

"Showoff." retorted Cardin.

"Be nice to Pyrrha, Cardin. She did help you when you were in a pickle." pointed out Sun.

"Fine...nice shot, Pyrrha." said the bully. He was reluctant to admit it, but Pyrrha just might be stronger than he was. He may have had a lot of chakra, but so did Pyrrha. Did she ever run out of chakra?

"Thank you." answered Pyrrha.

Sun Wukong then followed by opening fire using his nunchucks. Depending on his mood, he could either use a staff for close-range or use them to fire from a distance.

Of course, he was in the mood for attacking from a distance.

Using his nunchucks, he wiped out the rest of the Black Widows.

Howsver, this made the Black Widow Matriarch very angry.

She began spitting globs of poison. Apparently, the poison in question was fairly potent, as the globs of poison that hit the trees had their leaves rot.

Cardin attempted to whack the matriarch with his mace.

However, the matriarch bit him in the arm.

"Agh!" exclaimed Cardin.

The venom gradually begin to wear away at his chakra.

"Ugh..." stated the bully.

However, before the matriarch could bite him again, Neptune zapped the Black Widow with his trident.

The Black Widow Matriarch burst into dark energy.

"You OK?" asked Neptune.

"I think so." answered Cardin.

Fortunately, he had only been bitten once, so the venom dissolved before it could do too much damage to his chakra system.

Shortly after they had dealt with the Black Widows, they began to hear a buzzing noise.

"What's that noise?" asked Neptune.

"Maybe it's the rapier wasps...I hear they like the red sap here..." answered Cardin.

"I don't think it's rapier wasps..." warned Pyrrha.

"Huh?" asked the tough genin.

As it turned out, it was Lancer Grimm.

"More Grimm!" exclaimed Neptune. These ones were capable of flight, much like a Nevermore. They were based off of wasps, after all.

"I've heard of them...they like to attack ships that are flying across kingdoms. They're not above attacking humans or Faunus though." explained Pyrrha.

"How do we deal with them?" asked the blue-haired genin.

"You have that electric trident, right?" inquired the redhead.

Neptune nodded.

He turned his trident into a gun and fired electrical rounds at the Lancer Grimm.

This seemed to be effective.

However, one of them stung him in the cheek.

"Ow!" exclaimed Neptune.

Fortunately, it seemed that this one didn't have venom in this stinger, since it was young.

However, it didn't lose its stinger after stinging, unlike its inspiration.

Cardin quickly swatted the Lancer with his mace.

"Thanks." answered Neptune.

"Keep zapping those bugs!" exclaimed Cardin.

Neptune kept doing just that.

Some of the larger Lancers were able to extend their stingers from their body like a harpoon. Perhaps they developed this ability once they were no longer newborns.

Sun Wukong opened fire on the Lancer Grimm, causing them to drop like flies...even though they were more like a wasp.

"They wouldn't happen to have queens, would they?" asked Sun.

"As a matter of fact, yes they-"

Pyrrha was cut off when suddenly a Queen Lancer fired a stinger at her chest.

Pyrrha gasped.

"Pyrrha!" exclaimed Sun.

Fortunately, she was fine.

"I'm OK..." said the huntress.

Sun sighed in relief. He didn't want to lose a member of his team, especially since they weren't even chunin yet.

In retaliation, Pyrrha stabbed the queen lancer with her spear, causing her to screech.

The Queen Lancer opened fire on Pyrrha, firing several stingers in unison.

However, Pyrrha shielded herself using her shield.

Cardin then whacked the Queen Lancer with his mace, wounding it further.

Enraged, the Queen Lancer dove towards Cardin.

However, Sun turned his nunchucks into a staff and swung it at the Queen Lancer with all his might.

The Queen Lancer burst into white and black mist.

"We did it!" exclaimed Sun.

"The control center is just up ahead." said Pyrrha.

And indeed it was.

Pyrrha began to type on the computer.

However, Neptune noticed something strange.

There were two robots carrying Grimm in cages.

They were leaving the area.

"What were they?" asked Neptune.

Suddenly. they heard a hissing noise.

It looked like a Deathstalker didn't want them repairing the security network.

"Dang it! How many creepy crawlies do we have to face?" asked Cardin.

"I wish I knew." answered Pyrrha. Quickly, she got ready to fight.

The Death Stalker starting by snapping at them with its pincers.

Cardin slammed into it with his mace, but all it did was leave a dent in its armor.

This angered the Death Stalker, and it started attempting to stab him with its tail.

It ended up damaging his armor.

"Hey! That's my breastplate! Nobody touches it!" exclaimed Cardin.

In retaliation, Cardin hit the Death Stalker several different times.

The Death Stalker screeched, and began to launch several poisonous projectiles at Cardin.

Fortunately, Pyrrha created a wall of metal to block the poison.

It seemed that the metal was a good counter for the poison.

She then stabbed the Death Stalker's tail with her spear.

The Death Stalker screamed and focused on Pyrrha.

However, before it could aim its stinger at her, Neptune shocked it with his trident.

The Death Stalker screamed once more.

Pyrrha then finished off the Death Stalker with her spear.

Now that the Death Stalker was out of the way, Pyrrha typed on the computer and got the security network operational again.

"Our work here is done." answered Pyrrha.

"That puny scorpion was no match for us!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Puny scorpion!" shouted Elizabeth.

Pyrrha contacted Professor Port on her scroll.

"Well done! We're still going to have to investigate the security networks being compromised however. This could be a threat to our kingdom." stated Professor Port.

"Right..." nodded Pyrrha. Who would want to sabotage their security networks?

And what exactly was with the robots gathering Grimm?

 _Meanwhile..._

"Another security breach, Third Hokage. This may be a threat to our kingdom." said Ozpin.

"Once again we received reports of robots spotted in the area before the security breach." pointed out the Third Hokage.

"I'm starting to suspect who might be responsible. However, I assumed until now that he was long dead." explained the silver-haired man.

"You have? Is it my former apprentice?" asked the Third Hokage. Personally he wondered if he would ever die someday. He was always looking for ways to cheat death.

"No, I don't believe him to be responsible. However, I've received word that he may be searching for the Sharingan." said the advisor.

"The Sharingan? But the Uchiha clan was wiped out by Itachi...and when Orochimaru tried to steal his body, he ended up counteracting the process and he failed." stated the Third Hokage.

"Yes...he has a younger brother though, does he not?" asked Ozpin.

"You're right. That is concerning." answered the Third Hokage.

Perhaps it would be best if they kept an eye on him...and made sure that he did not fall to corruption. Orochimaru's greatest strength was his ability to corrupt others into doing what he wanted.

Nonetheless, the second part of the chunin exams would go as planned. Sasuke would be allowed to participate along with the rest of his team, since he had passed the first part of the chunin exam due to Naruto's attempted sacrifice.

However, the Third Hokage got the feeling that Orochimaru wanted more than just the Sharingan.

Vale may be in danger.

 _Elsewhere..._

"Did you find out what the second part of the exam is going to be?" asked Naruto.

Ruby nodded.

Curious, Naruto noticed that sweat was coming down her face.

"What's the matter?" asked Naruto.

"The next part of the exam is going to take place in the Forest Of Death..." stated Ruby.

"The Forest Of Death? Isn't that full of dangerous Grimm? They say that they're stronger than the ones in Emerald Forest and Forever Fall..." answered the genin.

"Exactly. That's why it was closed off. However, there is a tower at the center. Maybe we can use that for shelter? Alternatively, that might be part of our objective." stated Ruby.

"I sure hope we'll be OK." stated Naruto.

Suddenly, Ruby received a message from her father.

"Hello?" asked Ruby.

"Greetings, Ruby! I heard that you were going into the Forest Of Death as part of your exam, so I decided to give you something that will help keep you safe!" exclaimed Taiyang.

"Huh?" inquired the girl.

Suddenly, a locker rained from the sky.

Ruby opened the locker.

She then smiled.

"Zwei? Is that you?" asked Ruby.

"Arf!" exclaimed Zwei.

As it turned out, Taiyang had sent Ruby her pet dog.

"Your father brought you a dog?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. He's more than just a dog though. He's super strong, not to mention really strong." answered Ruby.

"Really? That's pretty impressive..." answered the genin.

"Yeah...believe it or not, you can unlock aura on animals. It takes an experienced ninja in order to do it though." stated the kunoichi.

Naruto nodded.

At that very moment, Yang and Sasuke approached them.

"Zwei, is that you?" asked Yang.

"Arf!" exclaimed Zwei.

"Is this your dog, Naruto?" inquired Sasuke.

"It's mine, actually." answered Ruby.

Zwei licked Naruto on the face.

"Either way, he seems to have taken a liking to him." stated the girl.

Zwei nodded.

However, he did seem uncomfortable after sniffing his stomach.

"Yeah, I know...having an evil fox sealed inside me is painful. But I have to endure it for the sake of my city." stated Naruto.

If Kurama got out, the entire city of Vale could be in danger.

However, there had been jinchuriki who had bonded with their tailed beast, though he wasn't sure if he had the skill to pull it off. His mother didn't seem to bond with her tailed beast back when she was the container for the fox.

"Anyways, I suppose I can handle the Forest Of Death...as long as you're with me." said the blonde boy.

Yang punched Naruto's fist.

 _Elsewhere..._

"I've asked around, and from the looks of it, the next part of the Chunin Exams is going to take place in the Forest Of Death." stated Blake.

Jaune and Hinata were shocked.

"The Forest Of Death?!" exclaimed Jaune.

"Why would they send us there?!" shouted Hinata.

The Forest Of Death was no place for student academy students, that was for certain.

"Apparently they want to test our skills." answered Kiba.

"R-right." answered Jaune.

"No matter...Blake has night vision and I have tracking skills so I think we'll be fine." stated the dog user.

"O-of course." stated Hinata. There was also the fact that she had the Byakugan. Jaune also had armor and his shield.

Even so, she hoped that they would make it out of the forest alive. That would be fortunate enough, regardless of whether they passed or failed the second part of the exam.

Hopefully they wouldn't get killed by the Grimm. There was a reason why humans were having trouble expanding their borders, though they had managed to build some cities regardless of Grimm interference.

Well, at least she would have the support of her teammates. That was something that she could count on, right?

Personally she thought Jaune was cute...even if he wasn't stereotypically masculine like Cardin was. If only he would stop bullying others. At least he was learning to get along with his teammates.

Well, she might as well get ready. Hopefully the Forest Of Death would have food and water for them to eat so they didn't go hungry.

Jaune was getting ready as well.

"I better tell my sisters that I love them...as well as my parents." thought Jaune.

 _Yes, I decided to introduce you to Zwei. He'll be handy for the Forest Of Death, since he has a strong nose. What's that? There's already a ninja with a dog that go by the names of Kiba and Akamaru?_

 _Just for the record, I've thought of that._


	13. Chapter 13: Forest Of Death

_Well, this is the thirteenth chapter. And yes, it takes place in the Forest Of Death. It's appropriate._

 _Unfortunately, Orochimaru is on the move. Team NRSY might be in trouble. He is one of the legendary sannin. Do they even stand a chance against him?_

 _Fun fact: each of the three Sannin used to be disciples of the Third Hokage._

 **Chapter 13: Forest Of Death**

Today was the day of the second part of the Chunin Exams.

Hopefully they would live to go on another mission.

Some of them were terrified, but they decided to go to the second part of the exams nonetheless.

Dr. Oobleck and Anko Mitarashi were waiting for them.

"Greetings! Today is the day you shall be going to the Forest Of Death. I suggest you approach the forest with caution." stated Dr. Oobleck.

Personally he wondered why so many ninja had passed the first part of the exams. It wasn't normal for this many ninja to pass. Well, why question something he liked.

Of course, the number was inevitably going to thin now that the second part of the exams was about to begin, though hopefully they weren't going to be too many casualties.

"It's filled with Grimm! Isn't it lovely?" asked Anko.

Several of the genin shivered.

"Here's your objective! Each of you will be given a scroll. Half of you will get the Scroll Of Earth...while half of you will get the Scroll Of Heaven. Your objective is to find a team that has the scroll you don't and take the scroll from them. When you're finished with that, head to the tower at the center of the forest. You have five days." stated Anko.

"If one of the members of your team is incapacitated, you fail the second part of the exam and will have to take the Chunin Exam test again." continued Dr. Oobleck.

"And one more thing. Don't open the scrolls until you reach the tower. Otherwise bad things will happen!" exclaimed the kunoichi.

Since the Forest Of Death was by no means a safe place, the genin were required to sign a contract before entering, saying that they could potentially meet a messy end there.

Rock Lee was getting ready by practicing karate moves.

"You sure like using taijutsu..." stated Weiss.

"Yeah...it's the only type of jutsu that I really excel at..." answered Rock Lee. He didn't have much luck trying to get genjutsu or ninjutsu. The most he got was producing bubbles when he tried using a water jutsu. At least they were fun to look at.

"Really? That's too bad. I could help you with that." said the white-haired girl.

"You can? I really appreciate it..." stated the martial artist.

"Just promise not to flirt with me while I do it...it's kind of creepy." stated Weiss.

Rock Lee sighed.

"Fine..." answered the martial artist.

Team NRSY was given a heaven scroll.

Team JHAK was given a heaven scroll.

Team SINR was given a heaven scroll.

Team Guy was given an earth scroll.

Team PWNS was given an earth scroll.

Team ACTS was given an heaven scroll.

The Sand Siblings were given an earth scroll. They were otherwise known as Team Baki...Atlas never bothered giving them a team name based on their names.

The Sound Genin were given an earth scroll.

"So, are you ready?" asked Anko.

Everyone nodded.

"Then get going!" exclaimed the kunoichi.

Everyone went into the forest.

 _A short while later..._

A group of genin were searching for another team of genin. Hopefully they would have the scroll that they wanted. They had a earth scroll so they needed a heaven one.

These ninja were from Mistral.

"Hello?" asked one of the Mistral genin.

Suddenly, they noticed that their scroll was floating away from them.

"What the heck?" questioned the kunoichi of the group.

They wondered what was going on.

They attempted to chase after the scroll.

However, when they attempted to do so, they found themselves unable to move.

Somebody had grabbed onto their shadows.

"What the heck?" questioned the ninja.

"Good work, Rennie!" exclaimed Nora.

Ren smiled.

As it turned out, he had learned a ninja technique that allowed him to turn invisible.

Of course, he wouldn't use it to be a pervert, as he was a gentleman...though Nora probably wouldn't mind if he saw her in her undies. She was crazy about him.

Realizing that the ninjas were trapped by Shikamaru's shadow technique, Ino decided now would be a good time to use her mind transfer jutsu.

She did that and hit the kunoichi.

She then knocked out another ninja by hitting him on the back of the head.

Their leader wondered why the kunoichi had turned on them.

Suddenly, he heard a noise.

"Wheee!" exclaimed Nora.

"Huh?" asked the leader of the group.

Nora fell on him with her hammer and he was knocked out.

After a few minutes of scuffling, it looked like the scroll was theirs.

They then began to head towards the tower.

 _Elsewhere..._

Unfortunately for them, a group of mischievous ninja had decided to disobey Anko and open one of the scrolls.

This didn't end well for them.

As soon as they opened the Heaven Scroll, Kurenai Yuki showed up.

"Opening the scrolls before entering the tower, are we? You should know that you need to follow instructions." stated Kurenai.

Vines extended from Kurenai's hands, and they bludgeoned the genin into unconsciousness within seconds.

Kurenai then went back inside the scroll and it closed up.

The scroll was found by Team JHAK.

"I wonder what happened to these genin..." stated Jaune. They had all been knocked out cold.

"I don't know but it's rather convenient for us..." answered Hinata.

Hinata picked up the scroll of earth and put in her team's bag.

Suddenly, a Nekomata approached the downed genin. Apparently, there were also Grimm based off of felines. Big ones.

"I'm a cat Faunus going up against a feline Grimm. Go figure." stated Blake.

Claws extended from Blake's fingertips.

She started to claw at the Nekomata.

The Nekomata hissed and attempted to pounce on her.

However, Blake cut the Nekomata's head off before it could do so with her Gambol Shroud.

"Wait, why did Kurenai call us Team JHAK instead of Team JHBK? Your name starts with a B..." pointed out Kiba.

"There are three As in my name...and it ends with one of them..." answered Blake.

"I see..." nodded Kiba.

Together, the four of them began to head towards the tower.

 _Elsewhere..._

Unfortunately for Tenten, her teammates were slowing her down.

Choji was gorging himself on the fruit that he found in the forest.

Shino himself wasn't eating, but his bugs certainly will.

It was kind of annoying.

On the lighter side, Sai was trying to draw a map of the forest, and they still had four days left.

It would certainly help them get around.

Of course, they couldn't miss the huge tower in the center. Once they had obtained both scrolls, that would be their destination.

Suddenly, she noticed that there was a genin team nearby. They seemed to be from Mantle. Apparently, the kingdom of Atlas used to be named after it. Nowadays, it wasn't the capital of the kingdom. It still had a Kage though.

"Psst! I think we should make our move!" whispered Tenten.

"What?" asked Choji.

Curious, Shino checked to see whether the genin team had their same scroll or not.

As it turned out, they did not.

"I guess we better launch our attack." stated Shino.

Choji nodded.

He expanded his body and began to roll like a boulder towards the genin team.

This proved to be effective, and the genin team were knocked over like bowling pins.

And to make matters worse, they seemed to being attacked by beetles.

Chakra-draining beetles.

"Aah! Get them off me!" screamed the leader of the group. He wished that his jonin teacher was with him...and that he had brought insect repellant.

Well, he couldn't help him now.

To make matters even worse than they were now, some Grimm approached them.

However, for some strange reason, they seemed to be dripping with ink.

As the genin team struggled to gain control of the situation, Tenten grabbed the scroll.

"I got it!" exclaimed Tenten.

She then used a smoke bomb to cover their escape.

"Aw man!" shouted the leader of the genin team. It looked like they weren't passing the Forest Of Death exam today.

 _Elsewhere..._

Cardin summoned two vultures, Henry and Beaufort. Henry was black while Beaufort was white.

He then sent them to search for a heaven scroll.

"I see you got some new birds." stated Pyrrha.

"I sure did!" exclaimed Cardin.

Eventually, they managed to find one.

"Let's clobber them!" shouted the bully.

Immediately, Team PWNS went to search for the scroll.

They found a genin team from Vacuo setting up camp.

"Henry! Beaufort! Attack!" exclaimed Cardin.

The two vultures began to attack the genin team.

"Get off!" exclaimed one of the unfortunate genin.

Sun and Neptune then made their move, attempting to grab the heaven scroll.

"I got it!" exclaimed Sun.

The genin attempted to lift their weapons...but found themselves unable to do so.

"What's happening?" asked one of the genin.

As it turned out, Pyrrha was using her magnetism to weigh down the weapons.

With that out of the way, the four of them retreated.

Previously, they had been attacked by a Beringel.

Sun found it ironic that he was being attacked by a Grimm that was similar to a monkey.

It had put up a fight though it was outnumbered. It could lift rocks and toss them at its foes.

It also had a habit of beating its chest like a gorilla. That seemed to invigorate it.

However, they had managed to overpower it. It vanished into black mist.

The tower was nearby, so it looked as if they were going to pass.

 _Let's check on the Sand Siblings..._

Apparently, none of the Grimm dared to risk attack Gaara, since they could tell just how strong he was.

They were reluctant to attack Kankuro or Temari as well. Penny looked rather innocent, but the Grimm could tell that she was more to her than meets the eye.

However, thought the Grimm were smart enough not to provoke Gaara, the same could not be said for a group of umbrella ninja.

They thought that since Gaara had the appearance of a young boy (though he was actually a teenager) he would be easy pickings.

This would not end well for them.

"Hey you! Give us your scroll!" exclaimed the leader of the bunch.

"I have no intention of parting with it." answered the sand ninja.

"Too bad! You don't have a choice!" exclaimed the umbrella ninja leader.

Immediately, the umbrella ninja launched senbon at him.

"You'll never beat Shigure!" exclaimed one of the umbrella ninja.

"Don't be so sure." answered Temari.

However, Gaara blocked the senbon with his sand shield.

"What?" asked the umbrella ninja leader.

Gaara smirked.

No matter how many senbon Shigure launched at him, Gaara always seemed to block them. Not one of them managed to strike him.

"Grr...stop playing games with me!" exclaimed Shigure.

"As you wish." nodded Gaara.

Suddenly, Gaara launched sand from his gourd at the umbrella ninja.

"Wha-" exclaimed the leader of the four.

He found himself being constricted.

"Aaaaahhhh!" shouted the leader of the umbrella ninja.

It then occurred to him that he might have underestimated Gaara.

And unfortunately, he was going to pay the price for it.

Penny was rather frightened at the sight.

The umbrella ninja that were with him were frightened as well. What kind of ninja was Gaara?

At this point, Temari and Kankuro were used to this kind of behavior from him. Every now and then he would do something that was pretty violent.

However, they decided to stand back. This was not going to be a pretty sight.

After encasing Shigure in sand, Gaara then made the sand implode, causing blood to be sprayed throughout the forest.

Temari and Kankuro heard it, but hysterical laughter was echoing throughout Gaara's head.

Someone was enjoying the sight.

The Beowulves sniffed the blood in the area, and they began to approach.

They licked the blood off the trees.

The umbrella ninja at this point decided it would be best to run. There was no way that they were going to beat Gaara, especially since he had brutally murdered their leader.

Penny was confused at the strange liquid that was now raining from the sky.

Unfortunately for the umbrella ninja, Gaara had no intention of letting them go, even though they had dropped the scroll of heaven in their haste.

Suddenly, they found that their legs weren't moving.

They wondered what was happening.

As it turned out, Gaara was burying them in his sand...alive!

The ninja screamed as they were buried by Gaara's sand...before they went under.

Then there was silence.

Gaara picked up the heaven scroll. Now that the umbrella ninja were gone, all they needed to do was enter the tower.

Penny felt bad for the umbrella ninja that had been buried in sand.

Granted, they were rather full of themselves, but still.

Nearby, Sakura had heard the sound of screaming.

"What was that?" asked Sakura.

"I don't know..." answered Rock Lee.

Weiss wondered if they had been attacked by Grimm.

From the looks of it, they had met a messy end.

It was probably best not to think of it.

Fortunately, Neji had managed to collect the scroll that they needed after locating a genin team. His Gentle Fist technique had made short work of them.

There was a reason he was considered to be a prodigy amongst his clan.

In addition, the Grimm in the forest had been drawn to the blood, so it looked like they had a clear path forward.

They decided it would be best to head to the tower as soon as possible.

 _Meanwhile..._

Anko and Dr. Oobleck watched what was happening on the cameras.

They had noticed what had happened to the umbrella ninjas that had tried to steal Team Baki's scroll.

"I can't say I don't feel sorry for them." said Dr. Oobleck.

"It was quite a bloodbath!" exclaimed Anko.

They noticed them entering the tower at the center of the forest.

"I think they set a new record." remarked Dr. Oobleck.

"They sure did! Not only that, but they didn't get attacked by Grimm at all. It's quite peculiar..." nodded Anko. Normally a genin team would be attacked by Grimm at least once.

But apparently the Grimm had decided that it would be too risky to attack a genin team that powerful, especially with Gaara at their side.

Curious, they noticed something strange on the cameras.

Instead of collecting a heaven scroll to go along with his earth scroll, Kabuto and his team were collecting information about the genin in the tournament. A rather muscular man with with Kabuto, as well as two scientists.

It was very strange.

Anko and Dr. Oobleck wondered what he was doing.

 _Elsewhere in the Forest Of Death..._

Team NRSY were walking through the forest, when something occurred to Naruto.

"I just thought of something." said the jinchuriki.

"Yes, Naruto?" asked Ruby.

"What should we do if we end up getting separated? We don't want anyone taking our heaven scroll..." noted the blonde boy.

Ruby nodded. That would be bad.

"Maybe we should come up with a passcode." stated Ruby.

"A passcode, sis?" questioned Yang.

"Yeah...let me think of something. How about The End Of Days song?" inquired the brunette girl.

Sasuke nodded. That seemed like a good idea.

Ruby sang the song a few times. It was pretty catchy.

Suddenly, Naruto felt the urge to use the restroom.

Perhaps it would have been best for him to have done so before the second part of the chunin exams.

"I'll be right back." stated the blonde boy.

"Don't be too long!" exclaimed Yang.

Immediately, Naruto went to do his business.

Suddenly, he heard a strange hissing noise.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

As it turned out, it was a King Taijutu.

"Oh man..." answered the genin.

Naruto found himself being swallowed whole.

"Help!" exclaimed the genin.

Meanwhile, Yang, Sasuke, and Ruby were waiting for Naruto.

Sure enough, he returned...or did he?

"Hi there!" exclaimed Naruto.

Zwei growled.

"What's the passcode?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto sang The End Of Days perfectly.

However, Sasuke tossed a kunai at him.

"But he sang the song perfectly!" exclaimed Ruby.

Curious, she noticed that Zwei was growling at him, even though he had correctly answered the passcode.

"Did you really think he would memorize a song that easily?" asked Sasuke.

"You're right...who are you?" inquired the brunette.

"Your worst nightmare." answered "Naruto" in a feminine voice.

Naruto revealed who it really was...a young lady looking for a scroll.

"Where's the rest of your team?" asked Yang.

"I don't need one..." answered the woman.

Suddenly, they heard the sounds of Beowulves.

There were Ursa as well.

Also present were Boarbatusks.

"If you want to survive, you should give me your scroll." stated the lady.

Yang wondered if they were in over their heads.

Zwei whimpered.

 _Meanwhile..._

Team CFVY approached Anko and Dr. Oobleck.

They were worried about something.

"Is something the matter?" asked Anko.

"We found the bodies of three genin..." stated Coco.

"Well, none of it make it out of the Forest Of Death alive...it's not the Forest Of Life...even if there are creatures living inside of it." spoke the jonin kunoichi.

"They were dead before the second part of the Chunin Exams began." continued Yatsuhashi.

"What?!" exclaimed Dr. Oobleck.

"What's more...their faces are missing." stated Velvet.

"Their faces...were missing?" questioned the green-haired jonin. That was very peculiar.

Anko's blood ran cold.

"Anko? Is something the matter?" asked Dr. Oobleck.

"What is he doing here?!" exclaimed Anko.

"Do you know this person?" inquired the teacher at Beacon Academy.

"He was once...my sensei." answered the kunoichi.

"He was?!" exclaimed Dr. Oobleck.

"And yes...and now he's returned to Vale..." stated Anko.

Dr. Oobleck couldn't help but feel worried.

"We have to warn the Third Hokage immediately." answered the kunoichi.

If Orochimaru was in Vale, nobody in the city was safe.

 _Well, things aren't looking good for Team NRSY. You probably know who that woman is. She doesn't have good intentions._

 _In the next chapter, the sound genin are going to attempt to get a scroll for themselves...one of which has ties with Blake._

 _Mind you, the next chapter is going to be scary, even if Gaara's already collected the two scrolls and won't be attacking any more genin for the time being._


	14. Chapter 14: The Shirugan

_In this chapter, Team NRSY are going up against Orochimaru. And to make matters worse he can control Grimm. How can he possibly do that?_

 _You'll find out._

 _Also, we'll feature the sound genin...plus one RWBY character. It's kind of like the Sand Siblings having Penny on their side. I figured they would be from Atlas in this fanfic so I figured why not._

 **Chapter 14: The Shirugan**

"This is bad..." stated Ruby.

For some strange reason, numerous Grimm had gathered towards the genin team and now they were attacking them. The Grimm seemed to come in all shapes and sizes.

Ruby slashed at the Beowulves with her scythe.

Since her scythe also doubled as a gun, she decided to fire some bullets at them as well.

Grimm in small numbers weren't dangerous to them, but large numbers could cause them a lot of trouble.

"How is she controlling them?!" exclaimed Yang.

Something told her that this lady had darkness in her heart.

Quickly, she punched a Beowulf away, causing it to burst into black mist.

Zwei was assisting Yang in attacking the Beowulves.

The Beowulves wondered how a small dog like him could be so strong. He was probably stronger than a tiger.

And yes, there were tigers living in the forest.

Likewise, Ruby severed an Ursa's head from its body.

Even so, more of them kept on coming.

"How did she gather such an army?" asked Ruby.

"I don't know...but I'm worried about Naruto. He wouldn't happen to be dead, would he?" inquired Yang. Granted, they seemed to have been doing fine in the exams up until now, but she was still concerned about his safety.

"I REALLY hope not." answered the brunette girl as she attempted to defend herself from a Boarbatusk.

The Boarbatusk snorted, and rushed towards Ruby.

Fortunately, she was fast enough to avoid Boarbatusks, even when they charged at her.

However, the longer the fight went on, the lower her chakra levels would become.

If she ran out of chakra, she'd be a goner.

Yang grappled an Ursa and flung it to the ground.

Sasuke was using his fire jutsu to burn the King Taijutus that were attacking his friends.

However, for some strange reason, none of the Grimm seemed to be attacking him.

Where was Naruto?

They could really use his bravery.

 _Meanwhile..._

Inside the King Taijutu's shared stomach, Naruto decided that he wanted to live...even if he did have a lousy childhood.

"Nuh-uh! There's no way I'm becoming snake food!" exclaimed Naruto.

Naruto decided to summon his clones to get him out of this mess. That was what he did best.

The King Taijutu wondered what was going on. The two heads felt...fuller than normal.

Naruto kept on summoning more and more clones.

Eventually, the King Taijutu was split in half, causing it to dissolve into black and white mist.

"Serves you right for trying to put ME on the menu!" exclaimed Naruto.

However, he got the feeling that his friends were also being attacked by Grimm. Perhaps that King Taijutu wasn't flying solo.

It would probably be in his best interest to try to save them. Ren had once told him that sometimes the worst action thst you could take was to do nothing at all.

Besides, he couldn't pass the second part of the chunin exams without his teammates.

Since he still had plenty of clones left over from bursting out of that King Taijutu, he decided to charge.

"Here I go!" exclaimed Naruto.

Unfortunately, he discovered that there were Grimm standing between him and his friends.

"Aw man..." said the genin.

 _Elsewhere..._

"Third Hokage, we have terrible news. We believe that Orochimaru has returned!" exclaimed Anko.

The Third Hokage sighed.

"I was afraid that he would return to Vale someday..." stated the Third Hokage.

"What should we do?" asked Dr. Oobleck.

"Has he attacked any genin?" inquired the elderly man.

"Yes...he attacked a team of genin...and he stole their faces." explained Anko.

The Third Hokage wondered why Orochimaru had returned home. It had been ten years since he had even stepped foot into the city.

He then remembered Orochimaru's interest in the Sharingan.

All of a sudden, he suspected what he was after.

He contacted Kakashi Hatake on his sending scroll.

"Kakashi?" asked the Third Hokage.

"Yes, Hokage?" inquired Kakashi.

"I need you to locate Team NRSY immediately. Orochimaru is likely attacking them as we speak." warned the man.

Kakashi gasped in shock.

He nodded and agreed to do so without question.

 _Meanwhile..._

"I have to admit. I'm impressed. The genin I encountered earlier didn't put up as much of a fight against the Grimm." stated the wicked lady.

Ruby gulped. Was this lady a killer?

If so, she was worried about her safety.

Yang was worried about Ruby as well.

"I can't die now...I need to kill my brother first..." thought Sasuke. His clan wasn't going to avenge itself.

And yet for some strange reason, this lady was only attacking his friends, not Sasuke.

"As enjoyable as it is to watch my Grimm fight you, I think I'll try something different." stated the mysterious woman.

The woman pressed her hand on the ground, and an enormous snake appeared.

Ruby, Sasuke, and Yang were all alarmed at the sight.

Zwei decided that he should stay back.

"T-t-that's one big s-s-s-nake..." muttered Ruby.

Yang gasped in shock.

The snake hissed.

Yang got ready to fight, cracking her knuckles.

The snake lunged towards Yang.

"Sis, look out!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Huh?" asked Yang.

The snake struck Yang, and knocked her out cold.

"Aah!" screamed Ruby.

"Yang!" exclaimed Sasuke.

Zwei whimpered. Would Yang be alright?

"You might want to consider giving me your scroll fast, I'm sure that my snake is feeling hungry..." stated the woman.

The snake began to open his mouth.

Suddenly, Ruby's eyes began to glow.

"What?" asked the mysterious lady.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Could it be that he wasn't the only one on his team to have a dojutsu?

Suddenly, Ruby fired a beam from her eyes.

The woman wondered what was going on.

The beam hit the woman square in the face.

She screeched in pain as her face began to melt off because of the beam.

Sasuke was unnerved by the sight.

Ruby then went onto her knees.

"Did you get her?" asked Sasuke.

However, when he looked at the woman again, he noticed something surprising.

It seemed that the woman wasn't actually a woman after all.

It was a man...who looked like a snake.

Apparently, having his master injured aggravated the snake, as he began to lunge towards Ruby.

However, Sasuke wouldn't allow that, especially since Yang had already been knocked out by the serpent.

He launched a fireball at the snake.

This was effective. Unfortunately for him, this reptile wasn't fireproof.

The snake screeched in pain and eventually burst into smoke.

Sasuke sighed in relief.

Much to his surprise, Orochimaru applauded him.

"Very impressive, Sasuke. However, don't assume that this will be our last meeting. I'm certain that we will be seeing each other in the future." stated Orochimaru.

"What?" questioned Sasuke.

"Before I go, allow me to give you a parting gift." said the Sannin.

Suddenly, Orochimaru stretched his neck and bit Sasuke on the back of the neck.

Sasuke gasped.

For a moment, he felt like his heart was filled with malice.

However, it eventually subsided.

Even so, Sasuke felt rather strange.

"Farewell, Sasuke. My eyes will always be on you." stated Orochimaru.

With that, Orochimaru leapt away into the darkness.

"Who was that man?" questioned Sasuke.

At that very moment, Naruto returned.

"Naruto, you're OK!" exclaimed Ruby.

"What just happened?" asked Naruto.

"We were attacked...by a woman, who turned out to be a man." answered Ruby.

"What?" asked Naruto.

Suddenly, he noticed Yang, who was still unconscious.

"Oh no! Yang!" exclaimed the jinchuriki.

"She's still knocked out..." answered Sasuke.

"I hope she'll be alright." stated Ruby. She wouldn't be in a coma, would she?

At that very moment, Kakashi approached them.

"Kakashi? Is that you?" questioned Naruto.

"Not that I'm not glad you're here, but what are you doing in the Forest Of Death?" inquired Ruby. They were supposed to learn to fend themselves here. Other ninjas wouldn't always be holding their hands.

"I need you to come with me to the tower in the center of the forest immediately." stated Kakashi.

"But we haven't gotten our two scrolls y-"

Suddenly, Sasuke noticed that Orochimaru had left an earth scroll on the ground.

Sasuke picked it up.

"Never mind." stated the brunette boy.

Sasuke wondered if Orochimaru wanted them to pass the second part of the Chunin Exams.

Well, he decided not to dwell on it.

Kakashi picked up Yang, and together they made their way to the tower.

 _Meanwhile, at the forest tower..._

Kabuto and his muscular comrade approached Orochimaru, who had disguised himself as a jonin. Specifically, the jonin assigned to his genin team.

"Ah, Kabuto and Hazel. Did you gather the information about Sasuke that I requested?" asked Orochimaru.

Kabuto and Hazel nodded.

Kabuto gave Orochimaru a ninja info card.

"Excellent..." stated Orochimaru.

This would come in handy.

"I made sure to give Sasuke a cursed seal...it should make controlling him much easier." said the sannin.

Hazel had to question the depths that Orochimaru would sink in order to obtain all jutsu.

He heard that he had sided with the Akatsuki in the past.

Orochimaru probably would be a good idea to mold Sasuke into an ideal host before he went after his body, even if he DID have the Sharingan.

He had previously tried that with a boy with a unique kekkai genkai, but nowadays he was bedridden. Just what horrible disease was plaguing him?

Ironically, his sensei Kakashi also had the Sharingan. He had gotten it from a friend years ago.

However, he doubted that Kakashi could be corrupted by him. He had dedicated his entire life towards his city. He certainly wouldn't betray it in a heartbeat.

It probably would be better to go after Sasuke instead of his jonin instructor.

"By the way, are your sound genin still competing in the tournament?" asked Hazel.

"Adam Taurus sent them after his former partner...he says that he wants revenge on her for leaving him." answered Orochimaru.

Kabuto noted that Sasuke wasn't the only one seeking vengeance.

Apparently, Adam Taurus wanted to destroy everything that Blake "held dear".

If so, her teammates would probably be a good start.

"I don't think I would ever want to be on Adam's bad side..." remarked Kabuto.

That man was slowly but surely going more and more insane.

 _Back in the Forest Of Death..._

Team JHAK continued to approach the tower in the center of the forest, when suddenly Blake heard rustling in the bushes.

"What was that?" asked Blake.

"Did you hear something?" inquired Jaune.

"I suspect somebody may be after our scroll." answered the cat.

It was a standard tactic during the second part of the Chunin Exams to ambush another team if they were lacking a scroll if they were heading towards the tower in the center of the forest.

Alternatively, perhaps they were simply collecting scrolls for their own purposes. That had its uses, such as bribing another team for information.

Unfortunately, this particular team wanted more than just a scroll.

At that very moment, the sound genin approached them.

Team JHAK got ready to fight.

"So, you're the kitty that walked out on Adam Taurus, did you?" asked Zaku.

"He wasn't happy about that...he says he's going to destroy everything you love if it's the last thing he ever does..." stated Kin.

Blake gasped in shock.

Had Adam gone off the deep end?

Jaune Arc and Hinata began to shiver with fear.

Suddenly, Blake recognized one of the sound genin.

It was a former friend of hers.

"Ilia? You're working with these three? But I thought you hated humans..." stated Blake.

Ilia noted that she had been reluctant to work with them herself.

However, Orochimaru assured her that instead of hating humans, she should try to corrupt them instead. It wasn't impossible to manipulate them into doing what she wanted.

Even so, the three of them seemed rather violent for her tastes.

Well, except for Dosu. He seemed reasonable.

"That's in the past." stated Ilia.

"We figured we would start with your teammates. Personally I'm looking forward to hearing them scream." answered Zaku.

Not wanting to take any chances, Kiba decided to fight back. It seemed that there was more at stake here than just a simple scroll.

"Akamaru, attack!" exclaimed Kiba.

Akamaru nodded and bit Zaku in the ankle.

"Grr, stupid mutt!" shouted Zaku.

He had to admit, Akamaru had surprisingly strong jaws for a puppy.

However, Dosu lunged towards Kiba at a surprising speed.

"What?" asked Kiba.

He then slammed into him with his fist.

Kiba was sent crashing into a tree.

"Kiba!" exclaimed Blake.

Ilia then followed by striking Jaune with her whip.

"Agh!" shouted Jaune.

Kin followed by launching senbon at Blake.

Fortunately, she managed to summon a clone to protect herself.

Zaku kicked Akamaru away.

"Stupid dog..." said Zaku.

Suddenly, Hinata lunged towards him and punched him in the face.

He began to bleed from his lip.

Zaku glared at Hinata, and sent her flying away using Decapitating Airwaves.

"What the..." said Hinata.

For some strange reason, Zaku had air tubes on his hands.

It was as if someone had experimented on him.

"Why Ilia? Why are you doing this?" asked Blake.

"I thought you cared about the White Fang...and then you left them." answered Ilia, swinging her whip.

"I did care about the White Fang...but then they turned to violence." stated Blake.

"What else were we supposed to do? The humans wouldn't listen to reason." stated the chameleon faunus.

"I have friends that are willing to overlook me being a Faunus..." answered the cat girl.

"How long will that last?" asked Ilia.

Blake began to wonder that question.

Kin continued to fire senbon. Jaune used his shield to block them.

He then swung his sword at Kin.

However, Kin was fast enough to avoid it.

"You'll have to do better than that." answered Kin.

"Don't think I won't try..." stated Jaune.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Who was that man?" inquired Ruby. He didn't seem like any of the genin at the exam. What kind of genin could summon a giant snake and control Grimm?

Zwei was currently munching on a bone that Ruby had given him.

"I'm afraid you had the misfortune of meeting Orochimaru, one of the three legendary sannin." stated Kakashi.

"He was one of the three legendary sannin?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Yes, he was." nodded Kakashi.

"What was he doing taking the Chunin Exams?!" asked Yang. At this point she had recovered from her fight with Orochimaru.

"I believe that he wanted Sasuke." stated the man.

"He gave me a mark on his neck..." said Sasuke.

"That would be his cursed seal...if left unchecked, it could cause you to become very violent." answered Kakashi.

"Can you do something about it?" inquired the teenage boy.

Kakashi pressed his fingers on Sasuke's neck.

However, he couldn't remove the seal completely.

"I'm afraid you may be stuck with the cursed seal for a while." answered Kakashi. Though he HAD weakened it, it could still grow if Sasuke continued to think negative thoughts.

Sasuke sighed.

"There was one other thing that I wanted to talk about." stated Sasuke.

"Yes?" inquired Kakashi.

"During our fight with Orochimaru, Ruby ended up firing a strange beam from her eyes. Before she did that, her eyes started to glow..." said the black-haired teenager.

"About that...like you, she happens to have access to a dojutsu." explained Kakashi.

"I do?" asked Ruby.

"Yes...it is called the Shirugan I believe. Those that possessed the Shirogan dedicated their lives to fighting evil, namely the Grimm. Legends had it they could kill a Grimm simply by looking at them." stated the man.

"Any other legends?" inquired the teenage girl.

"They say that whoever had the Shirugan were destined to lead the life of a warrior." continued the jonin.

"I think I AM destined to lead the life of a warrior." answered Ruby.

"You probably are." nodded Kakashi. "The reason why you were partnered with Naruto was because you had the Shirogan..." stated the man.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

"You see, several years ago, we were attacked by Kurama. He ended up killing many people during the attack. As such, the people of Konoha are worried that Kurama will break our your jinchuriki seal and will invade the village again. However, this time we have something that we previously did not." answered Kakashi.

"What?" inquired the blonde genin.

"The Shirugan can be used to counter evil chakra such as that originating from your beast. In the event that you lose control of your tailed beast, Ruby can use her Shirogan to quell the evil chakra radiating from your seal and allow you to regain control over it." stated Kakashi.

"That makes sense." nodded Naruto.

"That's why she was chosen to be your teammate." answered the jonin.

"I thought it was because she was one of my first friends..." stated the genin. She was willing to overlook the tailed beast living inside him.

"Well, obviously. In fact, that was the same reason Ruby was partnered with Yang. However, there's a reason aside from that. We figured if she was close to you at all times we wouldn't have to worry about you losing control. This wouldn't be the first time that a jinchuriki has lost control of their tailed beast." stated Kakashi.

This worried Naruto. Hopefully he could keep the nine-tailed fox under control. He didn't want history to repeat itself.

Fortunately, it appeared that Ruby could help with that, thanks to her dojutsu.

"Anyways, you've managed to pass the second part of the chunin exams." stated Kakashi.

"But you escorted us there..." said Ruby.

"Yes...but not many have faced Orochimaru and survived, let alone injure him." answered their jonin instructor.

Ruby nodded. That was pretty remarkable.

"If you wish you can wait here or take this summoning scroll to head back to Vale. It works both ways in case you were wondering." stated Kakashi.

The four of them nodded.

Currently, Zwei was chewing on a Beowulf doll.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Did you manage to find Orochimaru?" asked the Third Hokage.

"I'm afraid not. He seems to have disappeared from the cameras entirely." answered Ozpin.

The Third Hokage sighed. If there was anyone that was good at stealth, it was Orochimaru.

Something told him he was going to have to confront his former pupil sooner or later.

His monkey summon Emma had told him that he should have killed Orochimaru when he had the chance.

He was starting to wonder if that was what he should have done.

Still, he wondered if he had treated Orochimaru differently, he wouldn't have become the monster he was in the present.

Well, ther was no point in trying to change the past.

For now, he decided to continue the chunin exams.

There was no point in not allowing some of the genin to become chunin these six months.

 _Fortunately, it seems that Team NRSY has survived their encounter with the snake sannin. However, this won't be the last we see of him._

 _And to make matters worse, Sasuke now has a cursed seal on his neck._

 _Hopefully, it won't cause any problems._

 _In the next chapter, more genin will arrive at the tower._


	15. Chapter 15: The Sound Of Death

_In this chapter, the fight with the Sound Genin will continue. Also, Team ACTs will encounter a team of ninja before reaching the tower._

 _They want one of their scrolls._

 _Will Team ACTs make it to the tower? Team Baki already broke the old record for the second part of exams so anything could happen..._

 **Chapter 15: The Sound Of Death**

Team ACTs made their way to the tower.

However, they couldn't help but notice that their surroundings looked familiar.

Were they...walking in circles?

"I don't understand it...I was under the impression that we would have made it to the tower by now..." said Choji.

Sai nodded in agreement.

For some strange reason, they didn't seem to be getting any closer to the tower.

"Something's not right here..." stated Tenten. To their knowledge, they were walking in a straight line to the tower. They should have gotten closer to it by now.

According to the map that Sai had made, they weren't running around in circles and were following the correct path.

And yet, they didn't seem to be going anywhere.

Curious, Shino decided to consult his bugs. There was a surprising amount of information that they could learn from them.

Perhaps they could shed some light on the situation.

They gave him some disturbing information.

"It appears we've been caught in a genjutsu." stated Shino.

"What?" asked Sai.

"Apparently someone wants to tucker us out before moving in and stealing our scroll." said the bug ninja.

"Well, that's disappointing! I was hoping they'd have the guts to fight us like men..." stated Choji.

"Or ladies!" exclaimed Tenten.

Fortunately, his bugs were resistant to genjutsu, so they hadn't been affected.

"Not to worry, I think I know how to dispel this genjutsu." stated Shino.

Quickly, he had his bugs bite each of his teammates.

"Ouch!" exclaimed Tenten.

"Ow!" shouted Choji.

"Aah!" bellowed Sai.

Shortly afterward, the genjutsu was dispelled.

"Ugh...my head." stated the teenage boy.

"I guess we had been under this genjutsu for a while." noted Tenten.

On the lighter side, they didn't seem to have lost too much chakra.

However, the genin who had cast the genjutsu weren't so inclined to give up so easily.

"Don't assume that we're in the clear yet." stated Shino.

Suddenly, they began to hear voices.

"Well, this is disappointing. I was hoping that they would tire themselves out first." said Oboro.

"I guess we can't always have what we want." stated Kagari.

"At least we have our backup plan...right?" asked Mubi.

Oboro nodded.

Suddenly, the four of them found themselves being surrounded with haze clones.

"This isn't good..." stated Choji.

How were they going to get out of this one?

 _Elsewhere..._

Team PWNS arrived at the tower in the center of the forest. They had both scrolls with them.

They pulled open the scrolls and summoned Asuma Sarutobi.

"Congratulations. You passed the second part of the test." stated Asuma.

"I knew we could beat those chumps!" exclaimed Cardin.

"I figured my team could pull me through." stated Pyrrha.

Sun and Neptune gave each other a high five. It looked like their teamwork skills had paid off.

"I have to admit, the genin teams seem to be doing better than normal...before five days seemed like a hasty time limit to them...nowadays it seems like they have plenty of time." answered Asuma.

Then again, they had both Cardin and Pyrrha on their side, so maybe that's how they managed to pass in less than twenty four hours.

Personally he was hoping that his team would pass the exams.

He believed in them.

 _Back in the Forest Of Death..._

Hinata kicked Zaku in the leg.

"I'm sick of this..." remarked Zaku.

In retaliation, Kin prepared to launch senbon at Hinata.

However, Jaune came to her defense, blocking the senbon with his shield.

He then followed by slashing her with his sword.

"I wouldn't hurt a girl normally...but this is kind of a life or death situation here..." stated Jaune.

Beisdes, he needed to keep Hinata safe.

"Fair enough." answered Kin.

Likewise, Kiba and Akamaru hit Dosu with Fang Passing Fang.

He had to admit, their teamwork skills were impressive.

He was starting to wish that he had a ninken himself.

Blake hit Ilia with Gambol Shroud.

However, she used her natural camouflage abilities to blend in with the forest.

"Where did she go?" asked Blake.

Suddenly, she noticed her reappearing behind Jaune, ready to stab him with a kunai.

"Jaune! Look out!" warned the cat girl.

Jaune quickly blocked the kunai with his shield.

"Thanks, Blake." stated Jaune.

Blake bowed to Jaune with respect.

Personally, Ilia wondered how Blake could be friends with humans.

None of them seemed willing to be friends with her. Jacques Schnee treated her parents like slaves...which ultimately got them killed.

Jaune hit Ilia in the face with his shield.

Likewise, Hinata hit Zaku on the back of the head.

"Ugh..." stated Zaku. Were they going to lose? Adam wasn't going to be happy with them if they did.

Suddenly, Dosu used his Resonating Echo Speaker on the four.

This was bad for Kiba and Blake, since they both had excellent hearing.

"Aah! My ears!" exclaimed Kiba.

Akamaru whimpered. That was one heck of a dog whistle.

"Make it stop!" shouted Blake.

Underneath his face wrappings, Dosu smirked. Why didn't he think of this before?

 _At the tower in the center of the forest..._

"Yes, Rennie! We did it!" exclaimed Nora.

Ren smiled.

"Finally. Now I can take a nap..." stated Shikamaru.

He yawned and fell asleep.

Ino opened the two scrolls.

"Congratulations on passing the second part of the Chunin Exams!" shouted Might Guy, giving them the thumbs up.

Ino smiled.

Now all they had to do was wait for the five days to be over.

Maybe she could do some shopping before then.

There were some clothes that she would like to buy with the ryo she had earned from missions.

Of course, Shikamaru wasn't interested in that.

He just wanted to sleep.

Personally, Nora wanted to eat some pancakes.

She asked Ren if he wanted to come with her.

Ren shrugged and nodded.

It would be nice to celebrate after passing the second part of the Chunin Exams.

 _Meanwhile..._

Blake and Kiba recoiled from the sound.

When was it going to stop?

At this rate, they were going to pass out.

However, Hinata noticed what was happening to her teammates and decided to put a stop to it.

"This is too easy..." remarked Dosu.

Suddenly, Hinata approached Dosu.

"What?" asked Dosu.

Hinata then hit Dosu with her Gentle Fist technique.

Dosu screeched.

Hinata kept striking him, and Dosu passed out on the ground.

"Dosu!" exclaimed Zaku.

It seemed that despite his speed, he couldn't avoid Hinata's Gentle Fist.

Kiba and Blake sighed in relief. Their ears had been starting to bleed.

Now they could fight again.

Angered, Zaku began to fire bursts of sound from his hands.

Hinata was knocked to the ground.

"Hang in there, Hinata!" exclaimed Jaune.

Hinata nodded. She didn't want to die while she was still young. Some genin did have that happen to them, even if it was rare.

What would her father think?

Zaku got ready for another blast.

However, Kiba and Akamaru intervened.

Together, they hit Zaku with Fang Passing Fang.

Zaku was knocked out.

"Well, this isn't going well." stated Kin.

Jaune approached her.

Kin gasped.

He struck Kin with his shield.

She was knocked out.

At this point, Ilia decided it would be best to retreat. All three of her teammates had been incapitated, and she doubted that she could take down all four of the genin by herself.

"Don't think Adam's done with you yet, Blake." stated Ilia.

"I wish he was." answered Blake.

Ilia grabbed her unconscious teammates with her whip and retreated into the forest.

Blake was relieved that they had won.

However, she got the feeling that Adam wasn't going to give up so easily.

If he got desperate enough, he would probably come after her himself.

If that happened, she could be in grave danger.

For now, she decided to work on getting to the tower. They weren't far now.

Though the rest of her team were shaken from the deadly encounter with the Sound Genin, they decided to keep going.

Personally Jaune wondered what Adam Taurus had against Blake to want to destroy her family and friends.

Hopefully they could keep them safe. He would flip if someone wanted to do that to his seven sisters.

Speaking of which, he should probably contact them on his scroll after this. Those Sound Genin were lunatics...well, except for Ilia, and Dosu to a lesser extent.

 _Meanwhile..._

Penny contacted her father on her scroll.

"Hello?" asked Dr. Argent.

"Greetings, father!" exclaimed Penny.

"Did you pass the second stage of the Chunin Exams?" asked Penny's father.

Penny nodded.

"How did you do?" inquired Dr. Argent.

"I passed with flying colors!" exclaimed Penny.

"Very good." answered the scientist.

He had a feeling that Penny would be able to pass the second part of the exams, though he was worried about her safety when he heard that she was going to enter the Forest of Death.

Fortunately, none of the Grimm had attacked her.

"How are your teammates?" inquired the father of the teenage girl.

"Pretty good. Gaara's kind of creepy though." answered Penny.

She had seen what he was capable of in the Forest Of Death.

However, she wasn't so sure about her teammates.

Dr. Argent did note that there was something off about him.

Still, he had ensured her safety in the exams, so there had to be some good in him.

"I suspect they may host a preliminaries in order to eliminate further ninja. Whoever you get paired up with, take care." stated the father.

Penny nodded. Wouldn't want to get hurt out there.

Penny turned off her scroll.

Currently, her teammates were waiting for the five days of the second part of the Chunin Exams to be over.

It was questionable who was going to pass and who was going to fail.

 _Meanwhile in the Forest Of Death..._

Choji expanded his body and attempted to run over the haze clones.

However, for some strange reason, he seemed to go right through them.

"What?" questioned Choji.

For some strange reason, his Human Bullet Tank wasn't having any effect on the clones.

It was very odd.

Likewise, Shino's swarms of bugs and Sai's summoned creatures weren't doing anything.

Tenten wondered what was going on.

It then occurred to her what was happening.

Apparently, this was simply a diversion.

The real ninja were planning an attack.

Immediately, she prepared herself for when the real ninja inevitably showed up.

Suddenly, she noticed one of the ninja emerging from the ground.

He was prepared to stab Shino with a kunai.

Fortunately, Tenten tossed a shuriken at Mubi before he could so.

Mubi collapsed on the ground and some of the haze clones disappeared.

Shino wondered what was going on.

He then caught on to the deception.

Another one of the ninja attempted to attach a paper bomb to Choji's back.

However, Shino attacked him with his bugs.

Kagari gasped as the bugs swarmed him.

Shortly afterwards, more of the haze clones began to disappear.

Oboro wondered what was going on.

He attempted to stab Sai with a sword, only to be flattened by Choji's Human Bullet Tank.

He too passed out.

All the haze clones appeared.

Choji gave Tenten a high five. She had seen through the ninja trio's plan and had foiled it.

Now that they were gone, it seemed that they could get to the tower where they would be safe.

Tenten sighed in relief.

 _Elsewhere..._

Ruby was walking Zwei. Now that they had passed the second part of the Chunin Exams, they had some free time on their hands.

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting one of the three legendary Sannin of all people to be participating in the Chunin Exams." noted Ruby.

Apparently, that particular Sannin could disguise himself as other people...by wearing their skin.

It was pretty creepy.

Now that she thought of it, she heard that the two other Sannin could summon toads and slugs respectively.

Personally she would rather summon dogs much like her loyal pet Zwei.

Now that she thought of it, didn't Kakashi have that ability?

Maybe he could teach her how.

Naruto approached her.

"Hey there, Naruto! I'm walking Zwei!" exclaimed Ruby.

Naruto petted Zwei.

"He's a pretty smart dog. Did you know he can use a can opener?" inquired the girl.

"Really?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah...that's how he usually eats most of his food." answered Ruby.

"I see..." nodded the blonde.

Curious, Naruto decided to try launching a Frisbee.

Zwei dashed towards the Frisbee and caught it in his mouth.

"Huh. I didn't even have to tell him to say "Fetch!" exclaimed Naruto.

"I know. It's pretty impressive." answered Ruby.

"Then again, you're probably the one who taught him." stated the genin.

"Yeah..." stated the kunoichi. She did do pretty well on the Chunin Exams's written test...and unlike some of the other genin, she didn't cheat at all.

 _Meanwhile..._

"You know, back when we were fighting Grimm in the forest, I couldn't help but remember the time that I took my sister with me on a wagon." stated Yang.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah...one day I found out the woman I thought to be my mother was actually my stepmother. I was confused by it. Apparently, my dad used to be married to a woman by the name of Raven Brawnen." said the blonde.

"So...Ruby's your halfsister?" inquired Sasuke.

"Yes, she is. I still call it my sister though. We're pretty close." stated Yang.

"So...tell me what happened." answered the brunette boy.

"I decided that I should go searching for my mother. I didn't know where she was, but I figured I would search anyway. My sister didn't want me to go out alone, so I decided to bring her with me. Well, we found out why my dad didn't want us going into the wilderness." said the blonde.

"The Grimm?" inquired Sasuke.

"Yes. There's nothing that they savor more than the weak and helpless. And unfortunately, at the time, we fit the bill. Luckily, our uncle Qrow came to save the day. Of course, given that he causes misfortune wherever he goes, I wouldn't be surprised if he caused the Grimm attack in the first place." noted Yang.

"Personally I have to question why you would search for a mother that abandoned you without a second thought..." answered Sasuke. The only reason he was searching for his brother was that so he could hunt him down and kill him.

Of course, given his power was nothing compared to his brother, that was all just wishful thinking.

"Yeah...I didn't think of that at a time. I still wonder where she is though. Afterwards, Qrow explained that instead of being the brother of our dad like we thought, he was in fact the brother of my mom." stated Yang.

"Interesting..." answered Sasuke.

"Yeah...she seemed to have vanished from our uncle's life just as she had vanished from her husband's." noted the blonde.

At that very moment, Yang received a message from her father.

Personally she wished that her mother would contact her one day, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen.

Her stepmother used to contact her on her scroll as well when she was away from home. She may have not been her actual mother, but it was still painful to lose her regardless.

"I heard you passed the second part of the Chunin Exams. Great job!" exclaimed Taiyang.

"Yeah...something pretty bad happened though. We were attacked by Orochimaru." answered Yang.

"Orochimaru?!" exclaimed the man. There were all sorts of horrible stories about him.

And to think that he was once a loyal shinobi towards Vale. Where had he gone so wrong? Had someone corrupted him?

"Yeah...we managed to survive, thank goodness...but he gave Sasuke one of his cursed seals." answered the blonde.

"Have they caught him?" asked Taiyang.

"I'm not sure if they can...he's got an army of Grimm on his side..." stated Yang.

"I see...well, be careful out there. I wouldn't want you to be hurt." answered the blonde man.

Personally he considered pulling Yang out of the Chunin Exams...but he figured that she wouldn't want that. She just loved a good rumble. She once started a bar fight.

"I will." answered Yang.

Yang turned off her scroll.

As Yang finished talking to her father, Sasuke began to think of his brother.

 _"Why'd you do it, brother?" asked Sasuke._

 _"I wanted target practice." answered Itachi._

 _"You monster!" exclaimed the young boy._

 _Sasuke lunged towards Itachi._

 _However, Itachi used a genjutsu to incapacitate him._

 _He then leapt away. Once the rest of Vale found out about this, there was going to be one heck of a manhunt._

 _Sasuke passed out on the floor._

As Sasuke thought about how much he hated his brother for wiping out his clan, black markings suddenly began to appear on his face.

Yang quickly noticed.

"Sasuke, your face!" exclaimed Yang.

"Huh?" asked Sasuke.

He looked at the reflection of his scroll, and noticed that there were markings appearing on his face.

It must have been the cursed seal.

Quickly, Sasuke tried calming himself.

The markings began to disappear.

Fortunately, it appeared that he had managed to regain control of the cursed seal.

Sasuke sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness, I was worried that you were going to become a psychopath for a split second." answered Yang. Using the cursed seal would inevitably corrode someone's mind, since it drew power from emotions such as hatred and malice.

Fortunately, it appeared that he wasn't going to activate the cursed seal today.

However, he wondered who else Orochimaru had given the cursed seal to.

If Orochimaru managed to make an army of warriors with the cursed seal, the whole kingdom could be at risk.

Fortunately, it seemed that he had not done so.

For now, he needed to calm himself and made sure that he didn't activate the cursed seal.

Still, he got the feeling that Orochimaru could give him power...power that he needed to take on his brother Itachi.

What should he do?

 _Meanwhile..._

Hinata Hyuga opened the two scrolls at the tower, and Kurenai appeared.

"Congratulations. I had a feeling that you would pass the second part of the exams." stated Kurenai.

Fortunately, none of them had gotten killed.

"Well, it wasn't easy. We were attacked by ninjas that had modified their bodies." answered Jaune.

"They said that they had a grudge against Blake...or their leader did anyway." stated Kiba.

It appeared that Blake's past was haunting her.

"Are you hurt?" asked the jonin.

"We're alright." answered Blake. She was a bit worried that her hearing had been damaged though.

However, she got the feeling that her friends might get attacked first.

She was starting to wonder if she should leave Vale.

Well, it would be a shame to leave Vale now. Her teammates might still need her for the exams.

"When the five days are up, we'll see what happens next." answered Kurenai.

The four ninja nodded.

Perhaps there was going to be a preliminary test to weed out more ninja.

Still, the Chunin Exam finals were probably going to be big.

No doubt the audience would enjoy watching it.

There would probably be people from all over the four kingdoms.

Maybe her parents would be there.

Hopefully they would be safe from the White Fang.

 _Now that the Sound Genin and Team Oboro have been taken care of, it's time for the preliminaries to begin! Can you guess whose going to be paired up against who? I figured I would be creative..._

 _There's going to be a lot of fights, that's for sure._


	16. Chapter 16: Chunin Exams Preliminaries

_In this chapter, the genin wishing to be chunin are going to be fighting each other, one by one._

 _Expect a lot of fighting in this chapter. And in the next one. I don't think we can cover all these fights in one chapter._

 **Chapter 16: Chunin Exam Preliminaries**

As the five days came to pass, more and more ninja showed up to the tower.

At that very moment, Tenten spotted Pyrrha.

"Hi there! I have to admit, I'm a huge fan of yours!" exclaimed Tenten.

Tenten shook Pyrrha's hand.

"It's nice to meet a fan of mine. Of course, I have lots of fans." answered Pyrrha. There had been a lot of people rooting for her in the last Mistral tournament she was in.

"I have a poster of you in my room, and I love eating Pumpkin Pete's!" exclaimed Tenten.

"Is it because there's a picture of me on the cover?" asked the spearwielder.

"Well, the cereal tastes pretty good." answered the long-range specialist.

"I'm sure it does." acknowledged Pyrrha.

On the subject of food, Choji was currently eating some potato chips.

Sai was currently drawing a picture. He had a thing for art.

Shino was sitting there relaxing.

Eventually, the sound genin showed up. Despite the beating that they had received from Team JHAK, they still managed to pass the exams. However, there was no sign of Team Oboro.

Apparently, they didn't manage to get to the tower with two scrolls in time.

Team Guy had arrived as well.

Weiss had helped Rock Lee learn how to use ninjutsu, since people kept bullying him for his lack of genjutsu and ninjutsu skills. Personally Weiss didn't use genjutsu herself.

He was talented at taijutsu though, so at least it was something.

Hopefully it would pay off.

Weiss took a look at Neptune.

"Dang, he's really hot..." stated Weiss.

Eventually, the five days were up.

Ozpin was surprised that so many ninja had passed.

As such, he decided he was going to host a preliminaries.

"Do we all get to pass?" asked Sakura.

"Not quite. Though there will be more chunin passing the exams as usual, that's for certain. You're setting records here." stated Ozpin.

"Huh?" inquired Naruto.

"Due to the abnormal amount of ninja that have passed the second part of the Chunin Exams, we're going to have a preliminaries first." said the man.

"A preliminaries?" asked Ruby.

"Yes, a preliminaries. Half of you would go on and half of you won't." explained Ozpin.

"I see..." stated the teenage girl.

"The pairings will be decided at random so hopefully you'll be up against a suitable opponent." said the man.

Everyone nodded, though they did have to admit, it was a shame that not everyone was going to make it to the finals.

Nearby was a computer screen.

"Let's see who gets to go first..." stated Ozpin.

"Can we withdraw?" asked Kabuto.

"Hmm? Yes, you may." answered the man.

Hazel raised his hand as well.

"I've had enough violence for one day." stated Hazel.

He was wearing a mask, so Ozpin didn't recognize him.

However, he noticed that Hazel was glaring at him as he left the building.

"Now then, where were we?" asked Ozpin.

The computer began to decide who was going to fight who.

Eventually, it stopped on two combatants.

 **SASUKE UCHIHA VS ROCK LEE**

"Alright! I get to go first!" exclaimed Rock Lee.

"That's very lucky of you, Lee. Regardless of who wins, I'll be proud of you." stated Might Guy.

Rock Lee saluted Might Guy with respect.

Sasuke Uchiha smiled. He wasn't sure about his teammates, but it looked like he wouldn't have to play the waiting game.

Sasuke and Rock Lee both entered the arena.

"When you're ready, begin." stated Ozpin.

Sasuke and Rock Lee began.

Sasuke started by using taijutsu.

However, Rock Lee managed to counter it, being a taijutsu specialist himself.

Rock Lee then followed by kicking Sasuke away.

"He's fast..." thought Sasuke.

It seemed that Might Guy had taught him well, even if Rock Lee had only learned how to use taijutsu.

Rock Lee then followed by kicking Sasuke in the chest and punching him in the face.

Sakura wondered who she should root for. Sure, Sasuke Uchiha was hot and all, but Rock Lee was cute.

Besides, Rock Lee was her teammate.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, it seemed that Rock Lee was too fast for him. Every time he got close to him, he got punched and kicked.

He noticed that Naruto had a worried look on his face. It seemed that he wasn't liking his chances.

What was he to do?

He then remembered something.

Didn't he have the Sharingan?

It had been a big help during his fight with Haku, though it was Yang who had defeated him at the end.

He decided to try activating it.

He succeeded.

However, Rock Lee pointed out something to Sasuke.

"What are those markings on your face?" asked Rock Lee.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He realized what was going on.

"Yes...use the curse seal, Sasuke..." thought Orochimaru to himself.

However, Sasuke remembered how to deal with the curse seal on his neck and calmed himself, causing the curse marks to disappear.

Orochimaru frowned.

It seemed that Sasuke wasn't going to fall to corruption so easily.

Now that Sasuke was using the Sharingan, the fight became much easier for him.

He was able to counter Rock Lee's techniques, and even mimic them.

Rock Lee wondered what he should do.

Fortunately, Might Guy had an idea as to what to do.

"Rock Lee! Take off your leg weights!" exclaimed Might Guy.

"But you said I was only allowed to do that during emergencies!" shouted Rock Lee.

"Consider this an exception!" answered Rock Lee's sensei.

Rock Lee took off his leg weights.

Apparently, they were quite heavy, as they shook the room once Rock Lee dropped them on the ground.

Personally Neji didn't think that Rock Lee could beat him even if he did take off the leg weights. He was rather proud of his Byakugan.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Naruto.

Ruby couldn't help but shake the feeling that Sasuke might be in trouble. If he was agile even while he was wearing those leg weights, she could only imagine how fast he would be now that he had taken them off.

Personally she wished that she was as good at fist-fighting as Rock Lee was. Of course, it seemed like fist fighting was more of her sister's thing..

She was rather dependent on her scythe.

Now that Rock Lee had taken off his leg weights, it seemed that he had the upper hand once again.

He was running circles around Sasuke.

Rock Lee then proceeded to grab Sasuke with the bandages on his arms.

He then launched him up into the air.

"Oh no! Sasuke!" exclaimed Yang.

Sasuke was sent crashing into the ground once Rock Lee used his Front Lotus technique.

However, Sasuke still got up afterwards. It seemed that he was rather resilient.

At this point, he decided to use his fireball technique. Taijutsu was a no go against this guy, so he decided maybe attacking from a distance would be more effective.

"Rock Lee, look out!" exclaimed Weiss.

However, at that very moment, something unexpected happened.

Rock Lee ended up using the Water Dragon Technique.

The water extinguished the fire and went straight towards Sasuke.

"What?" asked Sasuke.

Sasuke hit the wall and was knocked out.

"The match has concluded. Rock Lee is the victor." stated Ozpin.

"Aw man!" exclaimed Naruto. Well, at least he and the rest of his teammates still had a chance to make it to the finals.

Zwei dropped his head sadly.

Yang sighed. It seemed that not even Sasuke could defeat a prodigy such as Rock Lee.

Weiss gave Rock Lee a high five. Finally he had some talent at ninjutsu.

Orochimaru was disappointed. How could he lose to someone that was lacking in chakra?

Still, it was rather surprising that he had used a technique as impressive as that.

Rock Lee was visibly exhausted after using it.

Might Guy pat Rock Lee on the back.

Hopefully his peers would treat him with respect once he became a chunin. Chances are he would become a chunin, even if he didn't do well at the finals.

Once again, the computer began to shuffle.

Eventually, it stopped once again.

 **YANG XIAO LONG VS SAKURA HARUNO**

"Alright! I get to go second!" exclaimed Yang.

"Way to go, sis!" shouted Ruby.

Naruto gave Yang the thumbs up.

Sakura took a deep breath and got ready to enter the battlefield.

Of course, if she got paired up against Naruto, it would probably be a snoozefest.

"Alright, Yang! Show her whose number one!" exclaimed Ruby.

Naruto was confused as to who he should root for.

On one hand, Yang Xiao Long (who was like a big sister to him, similar to her being Ruby's half-sister) was on the same team as he was.

But on the other hand, she was fighting a really pretty girl.

However, now that he thought of it, Sakura didn't seem to notice him. Maybe because they weren't on the same team.

Maybe he just wasn't her type.

Perhaps she preferred a more macho man.

"Fight!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Yang and Sakura nodded.

Yang attacked first, trying to strike Sakura with her fists.

However, Sakura countered with a kick.

Yang fired blasts from her two gauntlets at Sakura.

She leapt out of the way.

"I heard that you have your own theme song now..." remarked the pink-haired girl.

Yang nodded.

"I have to admit, it does make me seem rather arrogant." noted Yang. Was she really hotter than the sun in the middle of July? The sun was millions of degrees fahrenheit.

Ruby was currently listening to the song on her scroll.

Sakura bombarded Yang with another Blossom Shower.

This time, she was hit.

"Ow!" exclaimed Yang.

Who would have thought that a shower of blossom petals could be dangerous?

Some jutsu were simply strange.

In retaliation, Yang hit Sakura with a fireball.

Sakura noted that Yang was rather proficient with fire release techniques. Perhaps they suited her personality.

This reminded her of Sasuke personally. Unfortunately for him, Rock Lee had somehow managed to master a water technique, meaning that he could extinguish Sasuke's fire.

Yang fired more rounds from her Ember Celica at Sakura.

However, Sakura avoided them and punched Yang in the face.

"Sakura's really wailing on her, isn't she?" remarked Hinata.

"She sure is. However, it would be best for Sakura to end the fight quickly." answered Sasuke.

"Huh?" asked the kunoichi.

"Every time Yang takes a hit, her chakra adjusts to it accordingly and she gathers strength." stated the brunette.

"Interesting..." answered Hinata. Was it some sort of kekkei genkai?

Personally she felt lucky that she didn't have to face Yang in combat. She seemed rather tough.

Once again, Yang attempted to punch Sakura.

However, Sakura noted that she was moving faster than before.

Sakura wondered what was going on.

This time, Yang punched Sakura in the elbow.

"Ow!" exclaimed Sakura.

Sakura clapped her hands together and created a shockwave.

Yang was knocked backward.

Sakura noted that Yang's chakra was starting to become visible. It was yellow in color.

"That's not good." answered Sakura.

Rock Lee couldn't help but feel worried about Sakura's chances.

Sakura attempted to shield herself in an enormous blossom.

However, Yang ended up burning through it with a fireball.

"This isn't good..." thought Sakura.

It was times like this when she wished that she had studied water techniques instead of ones involving pretty flowers.

But she liked pretty flowers so she figured that she could forgive herself for it.

She decided to use a genjutsu to intimidate Yang.

Suddenly, her inner self appeared out of nowhere.

"Why did Yang stop?" asked Ruby.

"I think Sakura's using a genjutsu." answered Naruto.

For a moment, Yang wondered if the illusion was real.

However, she figured it was probably not.

She cleared her mind and Inner Sakura disappeared.

"It was worth a shot..." thought Sakura.

Yang punched Sakura in the face and she fell to the ground.

"Ugh..." stated the kunoichi.

At this point, Sakura decided maybe it would be best to withdraw. She could hardly stand after that attack.

Sure, she would forfeit the right to become a chunin, but sometimes there were important things.

Sakura raised her hand.

"Yes, Sakura?" asked Ozpin.

"I think I'm in over my head..." answered Sakura. She had done her best, but it wasn't enough. At this point she was running out of chakra.

"Sometimes it's better to surrender instead of risking your safety. The surrender terms may be generous. Very well. Yang Xiao Long is the victor." stated Ozpin.

Yang cheered.

"That was a good fight, Sakura." stated Yang, shaking Sakura's hand.

Sakura nodded.

"Way to go, sis!" exclaimed Ruby.

Zwei happily licked Yang on the face.

"You'll do better next time." said Weiss.

"Interesting...it seems that both Team NRSY and Team Guy have both won and lost once to each other..." remarked Kurenai.

Perhaps this time things would be different.

Once again, the computer began to shuffle.

Eventually, it stopped on two ninja.

 **RUBY ROSE VS. KIBA INUZAKA**

"It looks like we're getting a mixed gender fight this time." noted Kakashi.

Hopefully Kiba wasn't against the idea of hitting girls. It was just a friendly competition. Well, sort of.

Either way, he would be monitoring their chakra levels to make sure none of the ninja got seriously hurt.

Of course, he didn't need to do that with Sakura since she knew when to fold them.

"This might be a problem..." stated Kiba. Ruby had done rather well at Signal Academy.

Why couldn't he have been paired up against Naruto Uzumaki? He had flunked Signal Academy no less than three different times.

He would be an easy opponent. At least, that was what he thought.

Well, he would disappoint his teammates if he withdrew without fighting. Besides, he didn't do badly at Signal Academy himself, even if Akamaru ate his homework sometimes. He was a bit gluttonous.

Immediately, Ruby and Kiba entered the battlefield.

However, Ruby noticed something strange.

"Wait, why are you bringing Akamaru with you?" asked Ruby.

"It says in the group of rules, you're allowed to bring ninken with you to fight at your side during the Chunin Exam preliminaries. You're also allowed to do so during the finals as well." stated Ozpin.

"Oh...well, in that case...come here, boy!" exclaimed the brunette girl.

Zwei nodded and followed Ruby on the battlefield.

"She has a ninken too? Things just got more interesting." said Kiba.

Akamaru nodded.

"No matter! We'll show her whose top dog!" exclaimed the teenage boy.

Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Ready, Zwei?" asked Ruby.

Zwei barked.

"Fight!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Ruby attacked first, hoping to hit Kiba with her scythe.

Kiba noted that Ruby was pretty fast.

However, he wasn't a slowpoke himself.

Quickly, he attempted to avoid being hit by Ruby's scythe.

"I heard that you wish to be headmaster of Beacon Academy...personally I'm aiming for Hokage." stated Kiba.

"So is Naruto, actually..." answered Ruby.

"Him? But he did so poorly at Signal Academy..." said the dog ninja.

"Give him a chance!" exclaimed the teenage girl.

Ruby hit Kiba with his scythe.

In retaliation, he pulled out a bag and gave Akamaru a soldier pill.

Ruby wondered if those were for animals.

Akamaru began to turn red.

"Akamaru, attack Ruby Rose!" exclaimed Kiba.

Akamaru nodded.

Shortly afterward, he lunged towards Ruby.

"Nice doggy..." said Ruby.

Akamaru attacked Ruby and knocked the scythe out of her hand.

"Oh no! My scythe!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Not so tough without it, are you?" asked Kiba.

Fortunately, Zwei returned Ruby's scythe to her.

"Thanks..." stated Ruby.

"Isn't Zwei loyal?" remarked Yang.

"You should know. You've been with him longer than Ruby has." answered Naruto.

"Yeah..." nodded the blonde.

Ruby fired several bullets from her scythe at Kiba, but it seemed that he was fast enough to avoid them.

Kiba rushed at Ruby with Passing Fang.

However, Ruby quickly blocked it with her scythe.

"I think I need a bit more juice...ready, Akamaru?" asked Kiba.

Akamaru nodded.

Together, they got ready to use Fang Passing Fang.

"This is bad..." said Ruby.

Zwei frowned.

The two of them rushed at Ruby and Zwei with surprising speed.

Ruby and Zwei were both hit dead-on.

"Oh no! Ruby!" exclaimed Yang.

Zwei rubbed his head while stars began to swarm Ruby's.

"I thought this was an anime, not a cartoon!" exclaimed Ruby.

Kiba shrugged.

Ruby shook her head and the stars went away.

Akamaru and Kiba gave each other a high five. That teamwork tactic had worked rather well.

However, Ruby and Zwei weren't done yet.

In retaliation, Ruby began to make thorns shoot from the ground towards Kiba.

One of them grabbed his leg.

"Aah!" exclaimed Kiba.

Fortunately, he managed to claw the vines away.

"You should know that every rose has its thorns!" exclaimed Ruby.

Of course, she was no exception.

More vines began to grab Kiba's arms.

As before, he managed to cut them.

However, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was forgetting something.

He then noticed Akamaru, who was simply standing there.

He then remembered...shouldn't he be commanding Akamaru to fight?

It seemed that he was so focused on defending himself from the vines that he had forgotten to give Akamaru a command, so he was unsure what to do.

However, before he could do so, Zwei approached Akamaru.

Akamaru raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, Zwei started headbutting Akamaru.

"Akamaru!" shouted Kiba.

"Huh. I guess I don't need to command Zwei in order to have him fight for me..." remarked Ruby. Zwei was capable of using a can opener by himself, after all.

Akamaru passed out on the ground.

"This is bad..." thought Kiba. Now he was outnumbered two to one.

"Ready, Zwei?" asked Ruby.

Zwei nodded.

Together, they began to surround Kiba.

Kiba got ready to defend himself.

They then ran in a circle and engulfed Kiba in a whirlwind.

Kiba was sent flying into the air, making him gasp.

Ruby then leapt into the air and slammed her opponent with her scythe.

Kiba collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

"Kiba..." said Blake.

What a pity that he didn't win the fight.

"The match has concluded. Ruby Rose is the victor." stated Ozpin.

"And?" asked Ruby.

"So is Zwei." continued the silver-haired advisor.

"Arf!" exclaimed Zwei.

Jaune and Hinata sighed. It looked like Kiba wasn't going to the finals. Neither was Akamaru.

At least they tried.

"I wonder whose going to be next..." stated Naruto.

Blake hoped that whoever it was, it wasn't a member of the Sound Genin.

Those four were evil...except for Ilia. She was simply misguided.

The computer began to scramble once again.

Once again, it eventually stopped.

 **NARUTO UZUMAKI VS. BLAKE BELLADONNA**

Blake sighed in relief. It looked like she wasn't going to be fighting a member of the Sound Genin after all.

Not only that, but she had gotten paired up with a ninja who had done poorly at the ninja academy.

Of course, Jaune was doing well on his team despite doing poorly at the ninja academy, so she figured it wouldn't be a good idea to underestimate Naruto despite of that.

Blake pulled out her Gambol Shroud.

Likewise, Naruto took a deep breath as he entered the battlefield.

 _You probably noticed that I didn't make Rock Lee lose in the preliminaries like Kishimoto did in the Chunin Exams arc...I figure he probably loses too much. Having said that, he might not be as lucky during the finals._

 _I had Yang fight Sakura...because they're both fistfighters!_

 _As for Ruby and Kiba...I figure that since they both had dogs, why not make them fight each other two on two? That sounded interesting to me..._

 _In the next chapter, the remaining members of Team JHAK will step up to the plate. I'll leave it a mystery as to who they're going to be facing...other than Blake of course._

 _Bye-bye!_


	17. Chapter 17: Payback

_In this chapter...well, we're going to see how well Team JHAK does in the exams preliminaries...not just Kiba._

 _You're probably wondering why this chapter is called "Payback"...well, you'll find out._

 **Chapter 17: Payback**

Naruto summoned several clones in preparation for the fight.

"Fight!" exclaimed Ozpin.

The clones charged towards Blake.

Blake got ready to defend herself.

She started shooting the clones. Her sword also doubled as a gun.

"Her weapon reminds me of yours, Ruby." stated Naruto.

"A lot of weapons double as guns these days..." answered Ruby. Yang preferred close-ranged combat and yet she still could use her gauntlets to attack from a distance.

Of course, she could simply hit them with fireballs too, assuming they didn't have water release techniques to counteract it.

The clones began to burst into smoke.

"That's one powerful gun..." noted Naruto.

"Well, your clones do tend to disappear rather quickly." answered Blake.

"Yeah...I wish they were more resilient." noted the blonde genin.

Perhaps Naruto needed to summon more clones.

He decided to do just that.

This time, Naruto summoned more clones than before.

Personally, Blake wondered what it would be like if she got matched up with Cardin. Didn't cats prey on birds?

Then again, depending on the size of the bird and the size of the cat, it might turn out to be the other way around.

It looked as if Blake was being overwhelmed this time.

"Yes!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Uh-oh..." stated Jaune.

Fortunately, Blake remembered at that very moment, Naruto wasn't the only one who could create copies of himself.

"Two can play your game, Naruto." stated Blake.

Blake summoned some clones of her own.

To make a long story short, this evened the playing field...and then some.

"Uh-oh..." thought Naruto.

Blake's clones began to attack Naruto's clones, causing them to burst into smoke once again.

"That's no good..." remarked Naruto.

The clones began to approach the original Naruto.

"Now what are they planning?" asked the blonde.

The clones pulled out guns.

"Uh-oh." said Naruto.

The clones then proceeded to shoot at him.

"Oh no! Naruto!" exclaimed Ruby.

Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest.

Blake smiled. It looked like things were going good for her now.

However, Naruto wasn't inclined to give up yet.

"What should I do next? Any advice?" asked Naruto.

"You can try drawing power from your nine-tailed fox..." answered Kakashi.

"I thought you said using the nine-tails fox's power is bad." stated the blonde genin.

"Only when you can't control it." explained the jonin.

"Alright..." answered Naruto.

Naruto focused so that he could draw power from the nine-tailed fox.

 **"You need my help?"** asked Kurama.

"I kind of do..." answered Naruto.

 **"You humans are all the same...you keep using me and your fellow tailed beast for your numerous wars...I'm sure that's what the Fourth Kazekage intends to use the one-tailed beast for as we speak..."** said the nine-tailed fox.

"I'm here to make love, not war!" exclaimed Naruto. Personally he thought that war was good for nothing.

Ruby blushed.

 **"You're not here to make war? That's a new one...fine...but don't keep asking me for chakra. I expect you to fight your own battles for a change."** said Kurama.

"I'll try not to be greedy." answered the genin.

An orange aura began to surround Naruto.

"Huh?" asked the genin.

All of a sudden, he felt stronger.

He used this opportunity to attack the clones that had surrounded him.

He let out a roar and a shockwave appeared.

Blake's clones began to disappear.

"This isn't good..." stated Blake.

Naruto then began to approach Blake.

However, at that very moment, Naruto's orange chakra disappeared.

"This burst of power was short-lived..." noted Naruto.

Since Naruto's orange aura had disappeared, Blake decided to summon even more clones.

"So many clones...what should I do?" asked the genin.

And to make matters worse, they seemed to be enveloping the arena in a violet mist.

At this rate he wouldn't be able to see the clones and he would be ambushed.

Naruto thought of what to do.

He decided maybe it would be best to try to infiltrate the enemy.

He disguised himself as one of Blake's clones.

"What?" asked Blake.

"What's going on? Where's Naruto?" questioned Ruby.

"I think he's disguised himself as one of Blake's clones." answered Yang.

"Oh, I see..." nodded the girl. Perhaps Naruto could attack the real Blake now.

Blake wondered what she should do.

However, it didn't take her long to figure it out.

"What's that smell?" asked Blake. It smelled distinctly like ramen.

"Wait a minute..." thought the catgirl.

As it turned out, due to being a cat Faunus, Blake had a very good sense of smell.

Blake approached the imposter Blake and attacked it with her claws.

And yes, she did have claws. Even without Gambol Shroud, she wasn't to be trifled with.

Naruto's disguise disappeared.

"Aw man!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Nice try, but you're not fooling my nose." answered Blake.

Suddenly, Naruto let out a fart.

"Whoops! I ate a burrito on my way here!" exclaimed Naruto.

Blake covered her nose.

"Ugh...my nose..." said Blake.

"What's wrong?" asked Jaune.

"I think having a powerful sense of smell has its disadvantages sometimes..." answered Kurenai. The same goes with having a powerful sense of hearing as was the case for many Faunus.

Naruto wondered what was going on.

However, he decided not to let this opportunity go to waste.

He summoned many clones and had them attack Blake in a big cartoonish ball of violence.

"This reminds me of RWBY Chibi..." noted Ruby.

When the smoke settled, Blake had stars on her head.

"Are you still able to battle?" asked Ozpin.

"No, I'm not." answered Blake.

The clones disappeared.

"Very well. Naruto Uzumaki is the victor." stated Ozpin.

"I went for the cartoonish route since it's hard for me to hit a girl." said Naruto.

"Fair enough." answered Blake.

Naruto helped Blake to her feet.

Blake considered herself lucky that she didn't get paired up with a Faunus hater. That would have been messy.

"Let's see whose next, shall we?" asked Ozpin.

The computer again began to shuffle through the various genin.

Once again, it stopped.

 **JAUNE ARC VS. CHOJI AKIMICHI**

"Alright! I get to watch two losers beat each other up!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Hey!" shouted Choji.

Immediately, Choji and Jaune entered the battlefield.

"When you're ready, fight!" exclaimed Ozpin.

"In a moment, I need to eat some potato chips." answered Choji.

Choji began to munch on some potato chips.

"Didn't you eat on the way here?" asked Jaune.

"I know..." answered Choji.

Eventually, Choji was finished, and he threw the potato chips away.

"Alright, now I'm ready." stated the teenage boy.

Jaune prepared his shield.

Choji ran towards Jaune, trying to strike him with his fists.

Jaune was tempted to charge at Choji, but he remembered Kurenai telling him not to rush headlong into battle. Believe it or not, that wasn't what a warrior should always do.

Besides, Choji had the ability to transform into a human wrecking ball. Being hit by that would be really painful. He had already seen what the Akimichi clan were capable of.

So, he decided to block the punches and kicks with his shield.

Kurenai noted that Jaune's shield made for a good defense.

No doubt it would defend him from Grimm attacks.

However, Choji wouldn't give up so easily.

His teammates believed in him, and so did his friend Shikamaru.

He liked to watch the clouds with him. Usually, he would bring some potato chips since Shikamaru spent a lot of time doing that.

Seemed that he didn't do too much when he wasn't out on missions. It was a shame really. He was a smart guy.

Choji began to expand his arms in order to gain the upper hand.

Jaune was sent flying backwards a few feet.

He then followed by expanding his leg to kick Jaune to the ground.

"Ugh..." stated Jaune.

"I'm a bit worried about Jaune..." stated Hinata.

Choji certainly was strong.

Still, if this were a gambling competition, she wouldn't bet on Jaune to lose. That would be cruel.

Choji continued trying to stomp Jaune.

However, Jaune got up and slashed him in the leg.

"Aah!" exclaimed Choji.

Choji attempted to punch Jaune by expanding his arm.

However, Jaune blocked it with his shield and stabbed Choji in the elbow.

"Ugh..." stated Choji. This was starting to wear away at his chakra.

"Hang in there, Choji!" exclaimed Tenten.

Choji nodded. He wouldn't want to disappoint his teammates, now would he?

Besides, his buddy Shikamaru and his sensei Dr. Oobleck were watching.

Dr. Oobleck was drinking coffee while Shikamaru was sleeping.

Now that he thought of it, Dr. Oobleck was basically Shikamaru's polar opposite. It was kind of weird.

Choji began to expand his body once again.

"Uh-oh..." thought Jaune.

He had a feeling as to what Choji was going to do next.

Sure enough, Choji was getting ready to use Human Bullet Tank.

"Here I go!" exclaimed Choji.

Choji charged towards Jaune.

Jaune quickly got ready to dodge.

He leapt out of the way out of Choji's Human Bullet Tank.

However, Choji continued to move towards him.

Eventually, Choji slammed into him.

"Aah!" exclaimed Jaune.

"I hope Jaune's alright." stated Blake.

Now that she thought of it, didn't Akamaru sense a lot of chakra coming from Jaune?

It was a bit odd that it was coming from him of all people, especially since he didn't do well at Signal Academy. He did thwart that dust robbery however, so that was pretty impressive.

Akamaru's sense of chakra seemed pretty accurate, so perhaps Blake should trust him on that.

As it turned out, Jaune had endured the attack.

"He sure keeps on fighting, doesn't he?" remarked Tenten.

Shino nodded. You had to admire his enthusiasm.

Of course, based on what he knew about him, Choji didn't give up in the face of adversity. It helped that he had met Shikamaru one day.

His father had told him that one day he would make a friend, and he turned out to be right.

This time, Jaune got ready to defend himself with a shield. Rushing towards Choji while he was in this state was a bad idea. He had rushed at an Ursa once and got clawed in the face for his troubles.

He had healed up surprisingly quickly, but still.

Fortunately for Jaune, he was able to use his shield to block Choji's Human Bullet Tank.

He then followed by using his sword to stab Choji.

Choji deflated much like a balloon.

"Uh-Oh..." said Choji.

Jaune then hit Choji with his shield, causing him to collapse on the ground.

"It looks like you're just about out of chakra, Choji." said Ozpin.

Choji sighed. Ozpin was right.

To be fair, he was rather lucky that he had found an opponent that was similar in strength to him.

Jaune helped Choji to his feet.

"The winner of this match is Jaune Arc." stated the man with a cane.

"Good job, Jaune." said Blake, applauding her teammate.

Jaune smirked. It looked like he was going to become a chunin.

At that very moment, Kiba returned from the hospital.

He had recovered rather quickly. Fortunately, Ruby and Zwei hadn't beaten him up too badly.

"Kiba!" exclaimed Hinata.

"What did I miss?" asked Kiba.

"Blake lost and Jaune won." answered the kunoichi.

Kiba was sad that Blake lost, but he was happy that Jaune won.

"Let's see whose going next." stated Ozpin.

Once again, the computer began to shuffle.

Eventually, it stopped.

 **HINATA HYUGA VS CARDIN WINCHESTER**

Hinata gasped.

"Oh no..." murmured Jaune.

"This is bad..." thought Blake. Cardin Winchester was one of the strongest genin amongst those competing in the Chunin Exams, and to make matters worse he had no qualms with striking girls.

Kurenai couldn't help but feel worried herself.

"Alright! This is going to be a cinch!" exclaimed Cardin.

Elizabeth laughed.

Sweating uncontrollably, Hinata entered the arena.

With a smirk on his face, Cardin entered the arena as well.

"I think Cardin's got this. I feel bad for Hinata though." said Sun.

"Yeah, me too." nodded Neptune.

"When you're ready, fight." stated Ozpin.

"You bet I am!" exclaimed Cardin.

Cardin went first, attempting to swing his mace at Hinata.

Hinata gasped and leapt out of the way.

"Why don't you do me a favor and surrender? You should know how this is going to end." stated Cardin.

"You're going to lose! You're going to lose!" sang Elizabeth.

For a moment, Hinata considered doing that.

However, she remembered that her teammates were watching. It would be a shame if she disappointed them.

She shook her head.

"You're not surrendering? That's too bad." answered Cardin. Well, that would make things more fun for him.

"Dumb move!" shouted Elizabeth.

Cardin sent an explosive blast from his mace that knocked Hinata off her feet.

"Aah!" exclaimed Hinata.

"Hinata!" yelled Jaune.

Cardin smirked.

"What makes you think that you're even cut out to be a ninja? I heard that your father disinherited you!" exclaimed the bully.

Elizabeth blew a raspberry at Hinata.

Jaune's eyes widened.

"Hinata? Is that true?" asked Jaune.

Hinata sighed.

"Yes, it's true. My dad said that I didn't believe in myself enough, so he handed the title of heiress over to my sister Hanabi." explained the teenage girl.

"See? She's a loser!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Loser! Loser!" shouted Elizabeth.

Cardin whacked Hinata with his mace.

Jaune felt bad for Hinata.

"I know for a fact that my father would NEVER disinherit me. I think my birds want a little exercise, wouldn't you say, Elizabeth?" asked Cardin.

Elizabeth nodded.

Cardin pressed his hand on the ground and Henry and Beaufort appeared.

"Why don't you two have some fun? I'm sure you're restless." inquired the bully.

Henry and Beaufort nodded and together they began to peck at Hinata.

Hinata gasped.

Together, the two of them began to peck at the kunoichi.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" exclaimed Hinata.

She began to roll around, trying to shake them off.

Jaune gasped.

Henry and Beaufort clawed at Hinata's face.

"Face it, Hinata! You were never cut out to be a ninja! You're nothing more than a big fat loser!" exclaimed Cardin.

Elizabeth laughed.

Hinata started to cry.

Was Cardin right? Was she nothing more than a loser?

Maybe he was. Maybe she WAS just a loser.

Henry and Beaufort returned to Cardin's side. It looked as if Cardin's plan to break Hinata had worked.

Hinata raised her hand to surrender...

...only for Jaune to offer her words of encouragement.

"Don't listen to him! You're not a loser! He's just a bully with an overinflated opinion of himself!" exclaimed Jaune.

Hinata stopped crying.

"Really. You think so?" asked Hinata.

"I know so!" exclaimed Jaune.

Hinata smiled. It was good that Jaune had her back.

Suddenly, Cardin began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Hinata.

"You're on the same team as that loser? That is priceless!" exclaimed Cardin.

Hinata glared at Cardin.

"Did you just call Jaune a loser?" asked Hinata.

"I certainly did! He is such a wimp! I'm surprised he even made it out of Signal Academy!" exclaimed Cardin.

Hinata's right fist tightened.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. For the first time in the history of ever, he had seen Hinata mad.

Curious, he noticed a faint chakra outline around Hinata. Were his eyes playing tricks?

Or was it...something else?

"He's even more of a loser than you are! That's really saying something!" bellowed the bully.

"Loser! Loser!" exclaimed Elizabeth.

More chakra began to appear around Hinata.

"Um, Cardin..." said Neptune.

"I'm ashamed to even call him a ninja! It's a miracle he got through the Forest Of Death! He isn't a man, he's a punching bag!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Punching bag! Punching bag!" shouted Elizabeth.

More and more chakra appeared around Hinata. It was purple in color.

"Let's give a big round of applause to-"

"Cardin! No!" shouted Sun.

"-the king of losers, Jaune Arc!" bellowed Cardin.

"THAT DOES IT!" screeched Hinata.

"Huh?" questioned the bully.

Elizabeth looked at Hinata with confusion.

At that very moment, Hinata charged towards Cardin.

"Aww, she actually thinks she can fight me now. Show her how delusional she is, will you, Henry and Beaufort?" asked Cardin.

Henry and Beaufort nodded and flew towards Hinata.

Cardin watched as they flew towards her, a wide smile on his face.

That smile would soon be erased.

As soon as Henry approached Hinata, she punched him as hard as she could.

Henry collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

Beaufort was soon to follow. Hinata struck him with a powerful kick and he too fell to the ground.

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Cardin.

Elizabeth gasped in shock.

Cardin turned to Henry and Beaufort, who were unconscious on the floor.

"My birds! That does it! Someone's going to pay!" shouted the bully.

"Hey Cardin! Where's the parrot on your shoulder?" asked Neptune.

"Huh?" asked Cardin.

He looked around, and noticed Elizabeth making her way to the entrance.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" asked Cardin.

"I'm getting out of here! Good luck, Cardin!" exclaimed Elizabeth.

As it turned out, Elizabeth decided it was every lady for herself after witnessing Henry and Beaufort get clobbered.

Cardin glared at Elizabeth.

Suddenly, he grabbed her.

"NO, YOU'RE NOT!" exclaimed Cardin.

Cardin picked up Elizabeth and tossed her at Hinata.

Hinata moved out of the way and Elizabeth crashed into the wall.

She passed out cold.

"Now then, where were we? I will become CHUNIN!" exclaimed Cardin.

Cardin attempted to slam Hinata with his mace.

However, Hinata was fast enough to avoid it.

"You will FALL!" exclaimed Cardin.

However, as Cardin attempted to swing his mace at Hinata, Hinata grabbed his right arm.

"Huh?" asked the bully.

She then began to twist it.

"Aaaahhhh! My arm!" screamed Cardin.

Cardin dropped his mace on the floor.

At this point, Pyrrha could tell that Cardin was terrified.

However, he wasn't the type of person to admit it.

"I will...beat you!" exclaimed Cardin, clutching his arm. "You're just a loser...just like your friend Jaune!"

This would be the last mistake in the fight that he would make.

"NEVER-INSULT-JAUNE-IN-FRONT-OF-MY-FACE!" exclaimed the enraged Hinata, punching Cardin in between each word.

At this point, Cardin's chakra reserves gave out. He collapsed on the floor.

"Impossible...I'm a Winchester...how could I lose...to a little girl?" asked Cardin.

With that, Cardin fell unconscious.

"Well, this was a surprising conclusion. I was worried that this was a mismatch, but in the end, Miss Hyuga proved me wrong. The winner is Hinata Hyuga." stated Ozpin.

Hinata clutched her head.

"You did it, Hinata!" exclaimed Jaune.

"Whew, I don't know what come over me. I'm sorry if I scared you." stated Hinata.

"Well, someone had to teach him a lesson sooner or later." answered the blonde.

Hinata hugged Jaune.

"I don't get it...how did Hinata beat Cardin?" asked Choji.

"I guess Jaune's not the only one with plenty of chakra." answered Kiba.

Akamaru barked in agreement.

Cardin was carried away in a stretcher along with his weapon.

Cardin's birds were carried away as well. Luckily for Cardin, they happened to have veterinarians at the Vale hospital as well.

As they carried him away, Professor Port followed.

"You think Cardin will be alright?" asked Sun.

"Maybe he'll be a changed man..." answered Neptune.

He wasn't sure.

 _I figured I would pair up Naruto with Blake because they both had the ability to summon clones. Granted, in the RWBY canon they work differently from Naruto's clones but still._

 _As for Jaune and Choji, they both had a habit of being bullied but they managed to make friends with others so I figured why not make them fight each other?_

 _As for Hinata vs Cardin...well, I figured a fight between him and Jaune would be too predictable. Besides, I wanted Hinata to have a chance to prove herself to her father. And of course, it was funny to watch Cardin get pounded by a little girl._

 _I hope you enjoyed watching Cardin get beat up. I personally thought it was amusing. I just hope I didn't make Hinata an anti-hero._

 _In the next chapter, Team SINR will start fighting. I'm sure that you're looking forward to that, right?_


	18. Chapter 18: Drop The Hammer

Let's _see who Team SINR gets paired up with, shall we?_

 _And yes, I called this chapter Drop The Hammer. It seemed appropriate considering what Nora's weapon of choice was. Apparently Ren giving her that toy hammer really inspired her. Then again, maybe it would inspire me too._

 **Chapter 18: Drop The Hammer**

"I have to admit, it was pretty impressive that Hinata managed to take down Cardin all by herself..." noted Weiss.

"I don't see what was so impressive. He was just a school bully..." answered Neji.

Weiss was inclined to disagree.

Hinata noticed that Kurenai had left. Was she going to talk to somebody?

Of course, Asuma Sarutobi was still there. He was waiting for his team to get a chance to compete in the preliminaries, whether they won or lost.

Naruto and Ruby both wondered who would be next at the Chunin Exam preliminaries. It seemed like anyone could win or lose after Hinata's fight with Cardin.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Did you hear what happened at the Chunin Exams?" asked Kurenai.

"What happened?" inquired Hiashi Hyuga.

"Hinata went up against Cardin Winchester in the preliminaries..." answered the jonin.

"You mean the big bad bully?" asked Hinata's father.

"Yes. I assume you've heard of him." stated Kurenai.

Hiashi sighed.

"I'll go visit Hinata at the hospital." answered Hiashi.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about? Hinata's fine...though I can't say the same for Cardin..." stated Hinata's jonin instructor.

"What?!" exclaimed Hiashi.

 _A few minutes later..._

"Now that Cardin's been sent to the hospital, I think it is time for us to continue the preliminaries." stated Ozpin.

If his calculations were correct, there were going to be seventeen genin making it to the finals.

That was a surprising amount.

Well, the Third Hokage would probably allow that number of genin to pass the exams, even if it was an abnormally high number.

The computer began to shuffle once again.

This time, it stopped on a member of Team SINR.

In addition, it stopped on a member of Team ACTS once again.

 **NORA VALKYRIE VS SHINO ABARUME**

"Yes!" exclaimed Nora. It looked like out of all her teammates, she was the one that got to go first.

Shino hoped that he would win, unlike Choji who had lost earlier.

Either way, he was going to do the best that he could.

Nora and Shino both entered the arena.

Shino got his bugs ready, while Nora pulled out her hammer.

Hinata got ready to watch the show.

Suddenly, her scroll began to ring.

"Hello?" asked Hinata.

As it turned out, it was from her father.

"I heard that you managed to take down Cardin. Congratulations..." stated Hiashi Hyuga.

"I suppose it was pretty impressive..." answered Hinata.

"Up until now, I thought you didn't have what it to took to become leader of the Hyuga clan...but it looks like you proved me wrong..." stated the man.

'You're just saying that because I'm strong now, aren't you? Before you said that I was too weak to become heiress of the Hyuga clan...is that all matters to you? Being strong? Because believe me, I already met someone who thought being strong was everything...it didn't end too well for him. I don't want you to meet the same fate. You are my dad after all." asked Hinata.

Of course, Hinata was referring to Cardin, who she had faced earlier.

Hiashi Hyuga sighed. His daughter did have a point.

"I suppose I should have told you this earlier..." stated Hiashi.

"Huh?" asked Hinata.

"Back when you were three, you were abducted by ninja from Mistral." answered the man.

"What?!" exclaimed the kunoichi.

Now that she thought about it, she remembered a traumatic moment in her childhood...she couldn't quite remember what it was though.

She thought at first that it was when she was bullied because of her eyes by three children, but Naruto had come to her aid. They had been friends ever since.

Naruto was like a brother to her. Of course, she already had a sister.

"They wanted access to your eyes. Apparently the idea of having near-360 degree vision was so tempting to them that they were willing to resort to kidnapping in order to obtain it..." stated Hiashi.

"Yeah..." answered Hinata. Some ninja had been envious of her abilities, even if she wasn't known for being strong up until now.

"It was a nightmare. I was worried that I would lose you forever and you would lose your eyes..." stated Hiashi.

"So the reason why you kept pushing me to become stronger..." said Hinata.

"I was worried that history would repeat itself." answered the man.

Of course, something else had happened that day that had traumatized him, but he decided not to explain that to Hinata. Not just yet.

"I eventually worried that you wouldn't be able to defend yourself at all, so I figured I would pass the role of heiress to Hanabi. She was a prodigy so I figure she wouldn't have to worry about being kidnapped, though I will admit that she is younger than you are." noted Hiashi.

"I see..." answered Hinata.

"Now that you understand, can you forgive me? I haven't been the best father, and I want to make it up to you. If you wish I can let you be heiress again..." stated the father.

Hinata thought about this for a moment.

"Eh, let Hanabi keep it. She's been dreaming about becoming heiress of the Hyuga clan since forever..." answered Hinata.

"Alright then. Very well. Good luck at the Chunin Exam finals." stated Hiashi.

Hiashi hung up.

"Who was that?" asked Jaune.

"That was my father." answered Hinata.

"I'm sorry he disinherited you...do I have to go over to his household and teach him a lesson?" inquired the blonde.

Hinata giggled.

"It's OK. I think I got things straightened out with him." stated Hinata.

Jaune hugged Hinata.

"You want to watch the match?" asked Jaune.

"Sure." nodded Hinata.

"When you're ready, fight!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Nora Valkyrie went first, charging at Shino with her hammer.

"Here I go!" exclaimed Nora.

However, when she struck Shino, she ended up hitting a clone.

It burst into beetles.

"Huh?" asked Nora.

"It's probably best not to rush in." warned Ren.

At that very moment, Shino reappeared behind Nora.

He then kicked Nora a few times.

"Oof!" exclaimed Nora.

However, she got back up.

Curious, Nora noticed that there were bugs crawling all over Shino's body.

"You're covered with bugs...does that make you feel uncomfortable?" asked Nora.

"It used to make me feel uncomfortable at first, but I got used to it with time. I'm part of the Aburame clan, you see." stated Shino. Each of them had a symbiotic relationship with bugs...and of course despised pesticides.

"Fair enough. I used to eat from the trash." answered the girl. It was a pretty good thing she had a strong immune system.

Of course, nowadays she typically ate pancakes.

Shino raised an eyebrow.

However, he decided not to ask too many questions. His bugs loved eating from the trash.

Nora got ready to wield a hammer.

"I must admit, you must have a large amount of strength if you can wield a hammer such as that." answered Shino.

"I sure do!" exclaimed Nora. She could crush a Deathstalker if she wanted to.

Of course, it would help if she was charged with electricity.

"However, sometimes it's better to come up with a strategy instead of simply using brute strength in combat." noted the bug user.

"Huh?" asked Nora.

Kiba noted that Shino reminded him of Blake. His bugs would probably be good for espionage, but as fate would have it, he ended up on a different team than him. Not that Blake wasn't bad at espionage however. She could see in the dark.

"For example, I'm using my bugs to assist me in combat. Though I'm not bad at taijutsu, I figured maybe I should try using a different tactic than simply fighting you at close-range, since that seems to be where you excel at." noted Shino.

Nora nodded.

Sure enough, bugs seemed to be spilling from Shino's palms.

They began to move towards Nora.

"Careful Nora, I think those bugs are hungry." stated Ren.

"There sure are a lot of bugs...I guess I'll just have to squish them!" exclaimed Nora.

Unfortunately for Shino, Nora's hammer was a rather effective weapon against the bugs. She was squishing them like the pancakes that she ate.

And to make matters worse, she also had access to lightning release techniques.

This made her a rather efficient bug zapper.

"Alright! I'm doing it!" exclaimed Nora.

"Nora, some of the bugs are on your arm!" screamed Ino.

"Huh?" asked the teenage girl.

Sure enough, some of the kikaichu had attached themselves to her arm.

"Hahaha! That tickles!" exclaimed Nora.

"Now that I've attached the kikaichu to your skin, it should be a simple matter of having them drain your chakra." stated Shino.

"These beetles feast on chakra?" asked the teenage girl.

"Yes. It's part of a symbiotic relationship between us and our hosts. If they were parasitic, we would never allow them inside our bodies. But in exchange for our services, the kikaichu will both attack and defend on our behalf." explained Shino.

"Interesting..." answered Nora.

However, Shino noticed that something was wrong.

Nora didn't seem to be losing any chakra at all.

He decided to consult his bugs. Were they doing their jobs?

"What's wrong? Are you not draining her chakra?" inquired Shino.

"We are! There's simply too much for us to absorb!" exclaimed one of the kikaichus.

"Well, that's not good." answered the bug user. How much chakra did Nora have?

She certainly seemed fairly strong for a genin, that was for sure. She could probably rival Cardin had she been paired up against him.

Eventually, the bugs collapsed on the floor, completely bloated.

"Now then, where were we? Ah yes! It's clobbering time!" exclaimed Nora.

Nora charged towards Shino.

Shino instinctively summoned a wall of cockroaches to defend himself.

Normally, he would use his kikaichu to fight...but sometimes he would summon other bugs to give him a hand. Just as long as they wouldn't eat the kikaichu living inside of him. Granted, they could reproduce pretty quickly, but still.

However, Nora decided against simply trying to hit Shino with his hammer, since he could counter that by substituting himself with an insect clone.

Instead, she began to launch grenades.

The grenades went right over the cockroach wall and knocked Shino off his feet.

"Way to use your head, Nora!" exclaimed Ren.

Nora smiled. Perhaps taking Shino's advice was a good idea after all.

At this point, the cockroach wall disappeared. It didn't seem to last forever.

Shino attempted to strike Nora once again, but this time Nora surrounded herself with electricity.

As soon as he punched Nora, he found himself being zapped.

"Aah!" screamed Shino.

Shino clutched his arm in pain.

"Time for me to drop the hammer!" exclaimed Nora.

Nora swung at Shino with her hammer as hard as she could.

Shino was sent flying and crashed into a wall.

At this point, his chakra reserves were depleted.

"I don't think I'm able to battle anymore..." answered Shino.

"My sympathies, Shino Abarume. I think this was a bit of a mismatch." stated Ozpin. Nora had some pretty efficient ways to deal with Shino's bugs between her hammer and her lightning release techniques.

"If it makes you feel any better, I feel like I learned from this match! Besides, you fought well given the circumstances..." exclaimed Nora.

Shino actually smiled underneath his coat. It looked as if she had taken his advice to heart.

Nora helped Shino to his feet.

However, some of his bugs crawled on Nora's arm.

"What are you doing? The match is over..." asked Shino.

"But her chakra is delicious! Besides, it's not like she'll miss it or anything...she's got so much and all..." stated the bugs.

"You can feast on chakra another time..." answered the bug user.

The bugs went back to Shino's arm.

Nora gave Ren a high-five.

She then asked Shikamaru for one.

"Huh? Whatever." answered Shikamaru.

Shikamaru gave Nora a half-hearted high-five.

 _At the Vale hospital..._

Cardin woke up from the beating that he had received earlier.

"Ugh...my head..." stated Cardin.

Personally he wondered how he could lose to Hinata of all people at the preliminaries.

Well, he was going to have to wait six months to try again.

Ah well. Maybe he could do some missions to pass the time.

Suddenly, Professor Port entered the hospital room.

"Sensei?" asked Cardin.

"I have to say I'm disappointed with you, Cardin." stated the professor.

"What? Because I lost? I have to say I'm disappointed with myself..." remarked Cardin.

"That's not the reason I'm disappointed. You fought well." answered the sensei.

"Then why are you disappointed?" asked the warrior.

"You didn't pay attention to me when I told you about how those who are pushed would eventually push back." answered Professor Port.

"Oh?" inquired the bully.

"You continued to aggravate Miss Hyuga by insulting her partner...if you hadn't done that, you likely wouldn't be at the hospital right now." answered the white-haired jonin.

Cardin sighed.

"Maybe you're right." stated the genin.

"There's more to a warrior than being strong, Cardin. A big part of being a warrior is simply having a heart. That's how a warrior earns respect from everyone else." said Professor Port.

"Hmm..." thought Cardin. Perhaps he had forgotten that.

"Also, your parrot wanted to talk to you. She said she apologized for abandoning you when the going got tough." spoke the white-haired jonin.

Elizabeth showed up with a piece of paper of her mouth saying "I'M SORRY!"

"Don't be a chicken, Elizabeth. You're not even a flightless bird." spoke Cardin.

Elizabeth nodded.

When he got out of the hospital, perhaps he would go on missions that involved being a bodyguard. Maybe that was what being a warrior was really about, keeping those around you safe.

He was reluctant to admit it, but perhaps Jaune had learned that before he did, even if he initially thought he was going to become an invincible warrior.

That was something neither of them could achieve. Heck, he got the feeling that not even Pyrrha was invincible.

Cardin relaxed in the hospital.

Maybe his teammates would visit him.

 _Elsewhere..._

As before, the computer began to scramble.

Eventually it stopped.

 **SHIKAMARU NARA VS ZAKU ABUMI**

Shikamaru yawned. He sure hoped that however the fight ended, it was going to be over with quickly.

He wanted to go to back to his nap.

Zaku smirked. He now had the opportunity to pulverize one of those Vale Genin.

Orochimaru hoped that Zaku would win.

"When you're ready, fight." said Ozpin.

"You bet I'm ready!" exclaimed Zaku.

Immediately, Zaku stretched out his arms and got ready to fire.

Fortunately, Shikamaru was onguard. He may have been a slacker but that didn't mean that he couldn't be alert when he needed to.

"You can do it!" exclaimed Asuma. He may have been stronger than his student, but he was still smart enough to beat him at shogi.

Since he was a smart player at shogi, perhaps he would be a smart ninja too, even if he was lacking Nora's brute strength.

"I'm not going to lose to a chump like you!" shouted Zaku.

"Don't call me a chump. If I entered a shogi tournament, I'd probably become champion..." warned Shikamaru.

"It's true!" exclaimed Ino.

"You may be good at shogi, but I bet you stink at combat!" exclaimed Zaku.

"You want to bet?" asked Shikamaru.

Curious, Zaku noticed that there was a shadow heading directly towards him.

He leapt out of the way.

"Nice try, but you can't catch me!" exclaimed Zaku.

Suddenly, he noticed that Shikamaru was making some sort of shadow ball in his hands.

"Huh?" asked the sound genin.

Shikamaru then tossed the shadow ball at Zaku as hard as he could.

Zaku was hit dead-on.

"Aah!" exclaimed Zaku.

"The more you boast, the more opportunities I get to catch you off-guard." stated Shikamaru.

"Whatever! That's not going to happen again!" shouted the sound genin.

"I hope not..." thought Orochimaru. What did Orochimaru think he picked off him and his friends off the street for?

Now that he thought of it, he had seen an homeless girl with orange hair who looked like one of the genin taking the exams on the streets once...but she had ran away before he could approach her.

It seems that she got scared fairly easily.

Zaku fired several blasts in rapid succession at Shikamaru.

It seems that he was getting impatient with him.

"I'm going to hit you with everything that I've got!" exclaimed Zaku.

Immediately, Zaku began to charge for a powerful blast.

This gave Shikamaru an idea.

Suddenly, he grabbed Zaku's shadow while he was charging for an attack.

He was forced to imitate Shikamaru's movements.

"What are you-"

Shikamaru then placed his hands on his elbows.

Zaku was forced to follow suit.

He then remembered that he was still charging sound in his hands.

"Oh crap." said Zaku.

Zaku ended up wounding his own arms.

"Aah! My arms!" exclaimed the sound genin.

Sure enough, they were bleeding.

Since he was feeling a lot of pain, Zaku collapsed on the ground.

"My arms...oh god, my arms..." said the unfortunate genin.

"I'm pretty sure Zaku needs to go to the hospital. Rest assured, we have surgeons that can take care of him. The winner is Shikamaru Naru." stated Ozpin.

Orochimaru noted that perhaps Zaku having sound cannons on his arms might not have been such a good idea after all.

Zaku was carried away in a stretcher.

"Way to go, Shikamaru! That was pretty clever...I can't help but feel sorry for your opponent though..." stated Ino.

"Don't feel too sorry for him." answered Blake, remembering her encounter with the Sound Genin at the Forest Of Death.

Dosu felt sorry for Zaku personally. He was his friend back when they were out on the streets. When life was harsh, you had to be there in order to support each other.

Hopefully when his fight at the chunin exams inevitably came, he wouldn't end up suffering a nasty injury like Zaku did.

"Whose next?" asked Ino Yamanaka.

The computer shuffled.

As it turned out, the next person would be her.

 **INO YAMANAKA VS YOROI AKADO**

Orochimaru noted that for the second time in a row, a member of his forces was going to be fighting one of the Vale ninja.

Of course, if Kabuto and Hazel were fighting, they would likely demolish their competition. But as it was, they had already left the exams. Perhaps it didn't matter to them whether they remained genin or not...hence the reason why they passed the first part of the chunin exams in the first place.

Yoroi smirked. He felt as a young adult he could easily beat his opponent, as she happened to be a teenage girl.

Personally he wondered why his teammates Hazel and Kabuto chickened out of the Chunin Exams. They could win easily.

Well, he had no intention of doing the same. Neither was his friend Misumi.

Now that he thought of it, the two of them looked a lot alike. It was weird. Both of them even wore glasses...though in Yoroi's case he chose to wear shades.

Ino Yamanaka felt a bit strange fighting a young adult. She was under the impression that she was going to fight another teenager.

Of course, she knew that she wouldn't be facing Sakura since she already lost the Chunin Exam preliminaries.

Oh well. If Shikamaru managed to beat his opponent as well as Nora, maybe she could beat her opponent as well.

Immediately, she got ready to fight.

 _If you were wondering why Hiashi Hyuga disinherited his daughter from becoming the leader of her clan...well, now you know why._

 _It looks like Team SINR are doing well. We'll see if they can keep it up._

 _Hopefully now that Hinata's bested him, Cardin will be a better person. Perhaps he's learned something from that beatdown Hinata gave him._

 _In the next chapter, we'll see whether Ino wins or whether Kabuto's lackey does._


	19. Chapter 19: An Awful Battle

_Well, I think it's time for me to pick up where I left off. We'll get to see how Ren's fight goes._

 _Mind you, it's going to be sad._

 _On the lighter side, we're going to see how Ino's fight turns out. That one's going to be more light-hearted than the one that comes after it, that's for sure._

 _Also, Weiss is going to step up to the plate._

 **Chapter 19: An Awful Battle**

"When you're ready, fight!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Ino nodded.

Yoroi attacked first. For some strange reason, his hands were glowing blue.

One of them grabbed Ino's arm.

"Huh?" asked Yoroi.

For some strange reason, being touched by Yoroi made Ino feel...weaker.

Ino wondered what was going on.

"Wait a minute..." thought the blonde.

It then occurred to her what was going on.

"He's draining my chakra!" exclaimed Ino.

"Pretty smart...for a blonde." remarked Yoroi.

"Hey! Don't assume I'm dumb just because I'm blonde!" shouted the teenage girl.

Ino kicked Yoroi away, disrupting the chakra absorption.

She then followed with a psionic blast.

Yoroi was knocked backwards even further.

"You can do it, Ino!" exclaimed Nora.

"This guy is full of himself...something tells me that this fight isn't going to end well for him." remarked Shikamaru.

Yoroi got back to his feet.

"Darn it! How could I let her catch me off guard like that?" asked Yoroi to himself.

Well, he wasn't going to let it happen again.

"I was hoping that Sasuke would face off against a member of my forces...but apparently that was too much to ask for." thought Orochimaru to himself.

The Third Hokage thought the sound genin's jonin instructor looked vaguely familiar, but he wasn't quite sure who he was.

Again, Yoroi attempted to grab onto Ino.

However, Ino wasn't so willing to let herself get grappled.

She surrounded herself with a force field, and Yoroi was knocked backwards.

"Oof!" exclaimed Yoroi.

"I wish I had a force field!" shouted Nora. Having psychic powers sounded awesome.

Then again, so was having a super-destructive hammer.

"I have to admit, Ino's doing surprisingly well." noted Ren.

"It doesn't hurt that her opponent has an overinflated ego of himself." remarked Shikamaru.

Perhaps that was how he managed to win against Zaku.

"Grr..." stated the sound genin.

It occurred to him that beating Ino was going to be harder than he thought.

Perhaps he had underestimated his opponent.

Surely there must be a way to grapple Ino without her noticing.

He began to think.

Didn't he learn a camouflage ability not too long ago? Orochimaru wanted him to study a Vale so that they could learn what they were up against.

If the kingdom turned out to be too powerful, he would look for reinforcements to help him destroy the capital.

That was how he had decided that he needed help from another kingdom. Just in case, he had brought Hazel with him.

Perhaps that was what he needed to get close to Ino.

Immediately, he cloaked himself so that Ino wouldn't notice him approach.

Ino wondered where he had gone.

"Where did he go?" asked Ino.

Unfortunately for Yoroi, he wasn't as skilled at camouflage as Ren was, so it wore off rather quickly.

Even so, it allowed him to close the distance between him and Ino.

"Ino, he's behind you!" warned Ren.

"Huh?" asked the teenage girl.

"Gotcha!" exclaimed Yoroi, grabbing onto Ino.

"Ugh..." stated the blonde. Already, she could feel the chakra leaving her body.

"You're mine now!" shouted the genin.

"I have to admit...that chakra draining ability is awfully impressive..." remarked Ino.

"You bet it is!" exclaimed Yoroi.

"Does it work in reverse?" asked Ino.

"As a matter of fact, it does...sometimes my comrades need a little pick me up." stated Yoroi.

Of course, with Kabuto and Hazel at his side, they had gotten their scroll a long time ago. They had stuck around only so that they could gather information about the ninja in the forest.

As such, he hadn't really felt the need to transfer chakra to his teammates.

"That's all you needed to say, really." answered Ino.

"Huh?" asked Yoroi.

Suddenly, Ino transferred her mind to Yoroi.

At first glance, it seemed that Ino had passed out from chakra loss.

"Oh no! Ino's down for the count!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Poor Ino..." remarked Ruby.

Misumi smirked. He knew that his teammate would beat Ino in the end, though he was expecting Yoroi to have an easier time.

However, Ozpin wasn't so convinced that Ino had lost. He knew well about the Yamanaka's mind control abilities.

"Could you please take off your shades for me, Mr. Akado?" asked Ozpin.

Yoroi nodded and took off his shades.

His eyes were blue.

"Is it just me, or do his eyes look a lot like Ino's?" asked Nora.

"I think I know what's going on here..." remarked Shikamaru.

"Huh?" asked the teenage girl.

"Alright then. Carry on the match." answered Ozpin.

Yoroi nodded.

"Carry on the match? I thought Ino was unconscious!" exclaimed Yang.

"Hmm..." thought Sasuke to himself.

Suddenly, he began to transfer chakra to Ino.

"Wait a second..." stated Ren.

He was starting to see what was going on here.

Yoroi continued to transfer more and more chakra to Ino.

Eventually, his chakra reserves began to run dry.

"What is he doing? Has Yoroi gone soft?" thought Misumi.

Shortly afterward, Ino's mind returned to her own body.

She got back up.

"Hey! Ino's conscious again!" exclaimed Naruto.

Ino got ready to fight once more.

Yoroi rubbed his head.

"What happened?" asked Yoroi.

"You don't remember?" inquired Misumi.

"I was in a middle of a fight with that blonde girl." stated the chakra drainer.

Well, he decided to pick up where he left off.

However, as soon he attempted to attack Ino again, he felt rather...sluggish.

"What?" asked Yoroi.

Ino in contrast seemed a lot faster than before.

"Now I get it!" exclaimed Sakura.

"What's going on? I could have sworn that I had more chakra than this!" exclaimed Yoroi.

"Oh that...I figured that since you were holding me it would be a pretty good time to use my mind transfer jutsu." stated Ino.

"What?!" shouted the sound genin.

"I had you transfer your chakra to me so that I could gain the upper hand...I feel refreshed and energized now..." remarked Ino.

At that very moment, Yoroi realized why he felt sluggish.

"OK, maybe explaining my powers wasn't such a good idea..." noted the scientist.

"If you still wish to fight me, let's settle this Batman style. I've been reading my comic books." requested Ino.

"I'll still beat you!" exclaimed the scientist.

"Very well. Come at me." nodded Ino.

Yoroi approached Ino.

BAM!

Ino punched Yoroi in the face.

POW!

Ino kicked Yoroi in the shin.

OUCH!

Ino uppercut Yoroi in the chin.

CRUNCH!

Ino broke Yoroi's nose.

KABLAM!

Ino punched Yoroi in the face and knocked him out cold.

"The winner is Ino Yamanaka." stated Ozpin.

"Darn it, Yoroi...how could you let this little girl get the better of you?" asked Misumi.

Yoroi was carried away on a stretcher.

"That was pretty good use of your mind transfer jutsu." stated Shikamaru.

"Well, I DID have time to get ready for the exams." said Ino.

Apparently, that did manage to pay off.

The computer began to shuffle once again.

It eventually stopped.

 **LIE REN VS. NEJI HYUGA**

"Wait, Rennie's up against the Hyuga prodigy?" asked Nora.

If so, he might be in trouble. Neji was rather talented for a genin.

Of course, he was born in the branch household instead of the main household, so he didn't have access to as many of their clan's jutsus that he could have had, unlike Hinata.

Still, he was a formidable opponent.

Ren was aware of this, so he decided to approach the battle with caution.

On the other hand, Neji smirked. He had been looking forward to being in a fight at the preliminaries.

He had been hoping that he would be paired up against Hinata due to his grudge against the main household, but she ended up being paired with a bully instead. But Ren would do.

Since his father had told him to be respectful, Ren decided to bow to his opponent before the fight.

"It was your destiny that you would be chosen as my opponent...just as it is your destiny to lose to me." stated Neji.

"What makes you sure that I'll lose?" questioned Ren.

"What makes you think that you're cut out to be a ninja? I heard that you used to be a fearful coward that wouldn't stand up to bullies..." remarked the Hyuga branch house member.

Ren flashbacked to the day that he met Nora.

 _"Remember son, it's important that to be courageous. It is what allows us to fight the Grimm." said Ren's father._

 _Ren nodded._

 _Suddenly, he noticed something strange._

 _For some strange reason, a young girl was picking bread out from the garbage._

 _He decided to investigate._

 _"What are you doing digging through our trash?" asked the young Ren._

 _"I'm hungry..." answered the girl._

 _"I don't think eating from the trash is good for your health." pointed out the boy._

 _"Where else am I going to eat? I'm broke!" exclaimed the street urchin._

 _"Really?" asked Ren._

 _The girl nodded._

 _"Here, you can have these pancakes." said the young boy. His mother had baked some for him today, but he hadn't been able to eat them all._

 _Ren offered the girl some pancakes._

 _"Really? I can have some?" asked the girl._

 _Ren nodded._

 _The girl happily munched on the pancakes._

 _"What's your name?" asked Ren._

 _"It's Nora. Nora Valkyrie." explained Nora._

 _"My name is Lie Ren." answered Ren._

 _Suddenly, three bullies approached Nora._

 _Ren panicked and hid inside his house._

 _"Haha! It's that street urchin!" asked the small bully._

 _"Look how filthy she is!" exclaimed the medium-sized bully._

 _"I hear she eats from the trash!" bellowed the tall bully._

 _Unfortunately for Nora, her parents had been killed in a Grimm attack. There had been minimal casualties, thank goodness, so they didn't have to worry about a future Grimm attack...but Nora's parents had been amongst them._

 _Ren continued hiding in his house._

 _The three bullies pointed fingers at Nora and laughed at her._

 _Nora curled up into a ball and started to cry._

 _However, at that very moment, Li Ren arrived on the scene._

 _The three bullies gasped._

 _"What is going on here?" asked the huntsman._

 _"Nothing, nothing!" exclaimed the small bully._

 _"We were just leaving!" shouted the tall bully._

 _The three bullies left the scene._

 _Li Ren then turned to his son._

 _"I'm sorry, dad! Those three bullies scared me! I'm such a coward..." stated Lie Ren._

 _"Well, there's nothing wrong with feeling fear. I have experienced fear sometimes when I went fighting Grimm for the sake of my village. The important thing is that you defend those that need it, like that girl you saw earlier." answered Li Ren._

 _Lie Ren nodded._

 _Next time he wasn't going to chicken out._

"I'm not that person anymore." stated Ren.

"I also heard that your village was destroyed by Grimm...it appears that it was your parents' destiny to fall at their hand, just as it's your destiny to lose here." stated Neji.

Ren remembered the night well that he had lost his parents. There had been a lot of screaming that night.

"Regardless of whether I lose or not, I feel like I shouldn't let down my teammates." answered the boy who dressed in green.

"Very well. But don't say I didn't warn you." said the Hyuga clan member.

Neji Hyuga got into a fighting stance.

Likewise, Lie Ren pulled out his weapons.

"When you're ready, begin!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Neji Hyuga nodded and attacked Ren.

However, Ren left out of the way in an impressive display of acrobatics.

He then opened fire using his twin pistols.

But as it turned out, Neji was able to deflect the bullets...with his bare hands.

"That's not good..." remarked Ino.

"You're a fool to challenge me, Lie Ren. What makes you think that you're cut out to be a ninja? Last time I checked, your levels of chakra are low, and your durability is lacking. How are you supposed to be a ninja if you can't even endure your foes' attacks?" remarked Neji.

Lie Ren sighed. He didn't have nearly as much chakra as Nora did, he had to admit that.

Still, Asuma Sarutobi said that he was reasonably competent as a ninja. He had decent taijutsu skills, much like Rock Lee did.

"If you ask me, you should never have become a ninja. You're destined to be nothing but a failure." stated Neji.

A tear left Ren's eye.

"Dang, he's really wearing down Ren with his insults..." noted Shikamaru.

"I hope he'll be OK..." stated Ino.

Suddenly, they noticed Nora was emitting sparks from her body.

Not only that, but she had an angry look on her face.

"Whoa...Nora's getting angry..." remarked the shadow ninja.

Personally he wouldn't like Nora when she was angry.

Since shooting Neji with his two pistols wasn't a good idea, he decided that he needed to do something different.

He decided to try attacking Neji with the blades.

However, Neji dodged them and kicked Ren away.

"Aah!" exclaimed Ren.

He had to admit, Neji packed a mean kick.

As a Hyuga branch household member, Neji had spent his time practicing taijutsu, much like Rock Lee.

Of course, Rock Lee hadn't been able to best him, due to Neji's skill with the Gentle Fist style. It was especially bad for Rock Lee since he had limited chakra reserves, which is why he chose to use taijutsu himself.

Ren got back up to his feet.

He decided to try tossing Stormflower at Neji like a boomerang.

Neji simply scoffed and dodged both of them.

He was pretty fast.

Ren decided that if he was going to beat Neji, he was going to have to be sneaky.

Fortunately, he knew that he was talented at camouflage jutsu.

So, he decided that he was going to cloak himself using his chakra.

Ren seemed to vanish into thin air.

"Looks like Ren's cloaking himself so that he can attack Neji..." noted Shikamaru.

"Not a bad idea..." remarked Ino.

However, Sakura, knowing Neji, got the feeling that it was going to fail.

Her reasoning would quickly become apparent.

Ren approached Neji with his Stormflower blades.

Unfortunately, when he was about to stab him, Neji turned around.

"What?" asked Ren.

Neji then followed by punching Ren and send him crashing into a wall.

"You could see me?" asked the teenage boy.

"Of course I could see you. Thanks to the Byakugan, not only do I have near-360 degree vision, I also have the ability to detect chakra. Your cloaking techniques aren't going to work on me." answered Neji.

Ren sighed. It seemed that cloaking himself was useless against someone like Neji.

"You have no possibility of winning. As I said, you're not cut out to be a ninja." stated Neji.

More sparks began to come from Nora.

Ren attempted to attack Neji again, but Neji struck his arm with Gentle Fist.

All of a sudden, his arm felt strange.

Neji struck his other arm, and Ren dropped his weapons.

Neji hit Ren's legs with Gentle Fist, and he fell on his knees.

It felt like the chakra had been sucked from them.

"What's going on?" asked Ren.

"I launched an attack on your chakra pathway system...since you didn't have too much chakra left it was a rather simple task. Like I said, you were never made to be a ninja. You should have quit while you were ahead." answered Neji.

Even more sparks began to fly from Nora.

"Now that you're unable to use chakra, I suggest you give up. There's no way you can fight me now." stated the Hyuga clan member.

Ren sighed.

As much as he disliked his opponent for considering him unfit to be a ninja, Neji did have a point.

"Alright. You win..." stated Ren. Perhaps Neji was simply the better ninja.

"The match has concluded. Neji Hyuga is the victor." said Ozpin.

"See? It was your destiny to lose..." stated Neji.

"You know, I have to question whether destiny is set in stone as you claim. Back when I was living in Kuroyuri, I initially thought that I wasn't going to ever become a ninja due to my cowardice. But eventually I managed to learn to stand up for myself and I ended up passing at Signal Academy." remarked Ren.

Neji growled.

"Are you saying I'm delusional?" asked the teenage boy.

"What? No. I'm just saying that I don't agree with y-"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" bellowed Neji.

As Neji screamed at Ren, he punched him in the face as hard as he could several times. Ren was left with fresh bruises on his face.

Ren's lip began to bleed.

Neji then kicked Ren to the ground and spat on him.

Ren passed out on the ground.

"You sicken me." said Neji.

"That's enough, Neji. If you keep up that behavior I'm going to have to disqualify you from the exams." stated Ozpin.

Neji sighed.

"Very well." answered Neji.

Hinata noted that she was glad that she wasn't paired up with Neji at the exams. Then again, she did get paired up with someone that was a lot like him.

Hopefully somebody would teach Neji a lesson like she had taught Cardin a lesson.

"Ren!" screamed Shikamaru and Ino.

They sure hoped Ren would be OK. He seemed rather messed up.

At this point, Nora's anger at Neji exploded.

"That's it! Everyone stand back! I'm going to splatter him with my hammer!" exclaimed Nora.

"Nora, wait!" exclaimed Asuma.

"Huh?" asked Nora.

"If you do that, you won't be any better than he is!" warned the jonin.

"Oh, right. You once told me a story about Hanzo of the Rain...he wanted to bring bad people to justice...but he ended up becoming exactly like them in the end." stated Nora.

"It's a true story." answered Asuma.

"Fine...I won't kill him. But I'm still going to break his legs someday!" exclaimed the teenage girl.

"Fair enough." stated the jonin.

Ren was carried away on a stretcher.

Shikamaru felt sorry for Ren. He was the only one of his team not to have made it to the finals.

Of course, Sasuke looked rather depressed himself. Hopefully he wouldn't do anything too drastic. That cursed seal of his preyed on despair.

"I'm sorry you all had to see that. But we must move on in the preliminaries. Let us see whose going to be fighting next." stated Ozpin.

The computer began to shuffle once again.

This time, it stopped on a member of Team Guy as well as a member of Team PWNS.

 **WEISS SCHNEE VS. NEPTUNE VASILIAS**

"Wait, I have to fight against this hottie? Aw man..." said Weiss.

She was disappointed, to say the very least.

Well, sometimes you got lucky at the preliminaries, sometimes you didn't. Shino and Nora were proof of that.

Of course, if Neptune went up against Nora, Nora would probably wipe the floor with him. There was no way that he would be able to hurt her with his electrical weapons, thanks to her semblance allowing her to absorb electricity.

"Alright! It looks like it's your turn to shine!" exclaimed Sun.

Neptune smirked.

He just hoped that he didn't end up like Cardin did.

He was going to treat his opponent with respect. Besides, she called him hot.

Neptune and Weiss entered the arena.

 _Poor Ren...he lost to Neji Hyuga. And he beat him up. He must be avenged...guess whose going to try to avenge him? Knowing what happened to Cardin he's probably going to meet a similar fate. Only instead of it happening at the preliminaries it's going to happen at the finals._

 _On the lighter side, Ino managed to beat Yoroi. There goes another sound genin._

 _I think you'll enjoy Weiss's fight with Neptune though._


	20. Chapter 20: Hydrophobia

_In this chapter, Weiss is going to go up against Neptune. I'm not going to spoil it, but it's going to end comically._

 _After that, Pyrrha is going to step up to the plate. Can you guess who her opponent is going to be?_

 _Sun Wukong is going to enter the battlefield as well. Let's just hope that he doesn't monkey around on the battlefield because that could have consequences._

 **Chapter 20: Hydrophobia**

"When you're ready, begin!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Neptune pulled out his trident and Weiss drew her sword.

Neptune attacked first, trying to zap Weiss with lightning.

"I'm so flattered that you like me." said Neptune.

Weiss blushed.

"I hope that this battle doesn't change your feelings about me..." said the blue-haired teenager.

"It probably won't." answered Weiss.

Then again, she likely could learn more about Neptune by sparring with him. At the moment, she didn't know him too well.

Neptune fired another round of electricity at Weiss.

However, Weiss blocked it with a wall of snow.

She then retaliated by launching icicles at him.

"Whoa! Someone has an icy personality!" exclaimed Neptune.

"Very funny." answered Weiss.

"I don't get it...if he's called Neptune, why does he use electricity in his fights instead of water?" asked Sakura.

"There's a reason for that." answered Sun.

"Hmm?" questioned the pink-haired girl.

Neptune decided to change his trident into a gun.

"You're bringing a gun to a swordfight?" asked Weiss.

"It wasn't a sword to begin with..." answered Neptune.

"Maybe, but still." stated the white-haired girl.

Unsurprisingly, the gun in question happened to fire electric bolts.

"I wish I had a gun like that!" exclaimed Nora.

"I bet you do." nodded Shikamaru.

However, Weiss was able to deflect the blasts with her Mrytenaster.

"I don't get it...how are you not getting zapped? According to what I learned in science...metal conducts electricity!" exclaimed Neptune.

"It's not just any sword...for starters, it's rather durable, and it's not made from an ordinary metal. I hardly ever have to take it to the blacksmith for repairs. if I wish I can add dust to it, including electricity. It was specifically designed by the company that my dad owns." pointed out Weiss.

"Oh." answered the blue-haired boy. Perhaps it COULD be used as protection against chakra-based attacks, even if it wasn't a shield.

Weiss put some fire dust into her sword.

She then launched a horizontal wave of fire at Neptune from it.

"Whoa! That was hot!" exclaimed Neptune.

"Kind of like you." answered Weiss.

Neptune chuckled.

"Of course, now that I think of it, I should probably take advantage of the fact that you like using lightning release techniques..." noted Weiss.

Weiss began to gather wind in her hands.

"Hmm?" asked Neptune.

"Last time I checked, lightning release techniques don't do well against wind release ones..." answered Weiss.

Temari smirked. It seemed that she knew her elemental chakra pretty well.

Nora Valkyrie could probably consider herself lucky she didn't get paired up against Temari. Her wind release techniques would counter all of her lightning release ones.

On the other hand, she would probably have trouble against Sasuke. Being part of the Uchiha clan meant you had access to fire release techniques, which she of course was weak to.

"Really?" asked Neptune.

Neptune tried attacking Weiss with electricity again to see if that was true.

Weiss summoned a tornado, and it prevented the electricity from reaching Weiss.

It seemed that wind was a good electrical insulator.

"Dang. I guess you're right." exclaimed Neptune.

Now that Temari thought of it, Neptune was probably lucky that he didn't get her as an opponent as well.

She wondered who her opponent was going to be.

Whoever it was, she got the feeling that she could beat them.

The tornado kept going and sent Neptune flying.

"Aah!" exclaimed Neptune.

"Oh no! Neptune!" shouted Sun.

"It's alright. I'm OK, I think..." stated the blue-haired boy.

Weiss thought about using her ice release techniques, but she felt like she was using enough chakra as it was.

If she used too much chakra, she wouldn't be able to defend herself.

So she decided on using a technique that would require less chakra.

That technique was a water release technique.

Weiss began to gather water in his hands...

...when suddenly Neptune gasped.

"You're using a water release technique?!" exclaimed Neptune.

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" asked Weiss.

Neptune's eyes widened, and sweat began to come down his face.

He began to back away.

"Aah! Get that water away from me!" shouted the blue-haired teenager, clutching his hands against his head.

"Huh?" asked Weiss.

"Oh dear..." stated Sun. It looked as if Weiss had discovered Neptune's fear of water.

Neptune began to curl up into a ball.

He was hyperventilating.

Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Are you surrendering?" asked Weiss.

"Yes, I'm surrendering! Just don't splash me with water!" exclaimed Neptune. Anything but that.

Weiss sighed. This fight had been anti-climatic. She certainly hadn't expected the fight to end like this.

Well, at least she had won. It looked like she would be going to the finals. Personally she wondered who she was going to be paired up with next.

Perhaps it would be against Ruby. She had to admit, she sure wished that she would be more mature sometimes.

Weiss stopped charging the water release technique and she put her sword away.

"Darn it, Neptune! Why did you have to chicken out? I was rooting for you!" shouted Sun.

"I'm sorry, Sun..." apologized Neptune.

Well, at least he wasn't a dirty coward like Cardin was. It seemed like he only picked on the weak and didn't bother fighting the strong. That was likely how he lost to Hinata now that he thought of it.

Speaking of cowardice, he heard a rumor that Lionheart, the headmaster of Mistral, was a real coward.

"Gee, at first I thought I was cute...but now that I think about it...I don't think he's my type." thought Weiss.

Personally her type of guy would be someone...who was braver.

"Since Neptune Vasilias has surrendered, Weiss Schnee is the victor." said Ozpin.

Weiss Schnee smirked in satisfaction.

She decided to contact her sister on her scroll to tell her the good news.

"Greetings, sis. Did you manage to make it to the finals?" asked Winter Schnee.

"Yes, I did." nodded Weiss. It felt satisfying that she had made it after all her hard work.

"Congratulations. Personally I'm glad that you didn't choose to be like your brother. He really needs to be his own person instead of trying to be like his father." pointed out Winter.

"You have a point there..." nodded the middle child of the Schnee family. His father was such a bad influence on him. She was glad that she had chosen to be more like her sister.

Granted, Winter had been disinherited from her father's dust company because of it, but personally she felt that it had been worth it. She felt like she should choose her own path instead of following a predetermined one.

"I feel kind of left out...I'm the only one on my team not to make it to the finals." noted Sakura.

"Welcome to my world." remarked Sasuke.

"That was the last member of Team Guy. Now then, let's resume the preliminaries, shall we?" asked Ozpin.

Might Guy had to admit, he had taught his students well...though Weiss Schnee had ended up winning partly due to luck.

The computer once again to shuffle.

Who it was going to stop on, nobody knew.

Eventually, it stopped.

 **PYRRHA NIKOS VS. TENTEN**

"Alright! I get to fight my idol!" exclaimed Tenten. It looked like it was her lucky day.

Pyrrha smiled. It was nice that one of her fans was going to get the honor of fighting her.

It probably wouldn't end well for the fan of course, but it wouldn't stop them from trying to fight her.

"You sure you can take her? They say that she's an invincible warrior..." stated Choji.

"Surely no ninja is invincible..." answered Shino.

Still, he wondered the last time that Pyrrha had EVER lost a fight.

"You can take her!" exclaimed Sun.

Pyrrha pulled out her spear and shield, Milo and Akouo.

Likewise, Tenten pulled out a kunai.

"I heard that you believe that kunoichi can be just as strong as male ninja." stated Pyrrha.

"You bet!" exclaimed Tenten.

"Well, considering that I'm the four-time champion of Mistral, I suppose you may be right." answered the female warrior. There were many male ninja that wished that they could be as strong as she was.

Now that she thought of it, Jaune and Hinata seemed equally matched. They both had a surprising amount of chakra despite their apparent lack of fighting skill.

"Maybe one day I'll get to meet the legendary Tsunade!" remarked the long-range fighter.

"Maybe you will." nodded Pyrrha.

"When you're ready, fight!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Tenten went first, launching several weapons at Pyrrha.

"I give her performance a ten out of ten!" exclaimed Yang.

Naruto snickered.

"I don't see what's so funny..." said Sasuke.

Shino applauded Tenten for her aim. She was surprisingly accurate with her weapons.

Likewise, Sai let out a smile.

"How many weapons does Tenten have?" asked Naruto.

"I wish I knew!" exclaimed Ruby.

However, something strange happened.

Before they could hit Pyrrha, Tenten's weapons mysteriously fell to the ground.

"Huh?" asked Tenten.

Tenten scratched her head. She wasn't sure what was going on.

Well, it was time to try attacking again. If at first you didn't succeed, you tried again.

This time, she tried pulling out wire strings to help her aim her weapons better.

"I have to admit, she sure does have a lot of weapons." thought Pyrrha.

It seemed that she had mastered many different weapons. She certainly was a versatile fighter.

Personally Pyrrha had only mastered her spear and shield. Usually they were enough to get her through her fights.

However, she did know wind and earth techniques on account of her kekkei genkai.

Tenten once again attempted to attack Pyrrha using her numerous weapons.

However, as before, they all fell on the ground before they could reach Pyrrha.

"Darn it! This is getting annoying!" exclaimed Tenten.

She still didn't know what was going on.

Why was it that she was unable to hit Pyrrha?

Was she moving faster than her eyes could process?

It looked as if she was going to have to use the technique that she was saving for the finals.

"Time for me to use my Twin Dragon Technique." remarked Tenten.

Tenten pulled out two scrolls.

The scrolls rose to the sky and began to spin around each other.

They were cloaked in smoke shaped like a dragon.

When the smoke dispersed, Tenten leapt in between the scrolls.

She then summoned several weapons and threw them in rapid succession.

Even so, they fell before they could reach Pyrrha.

"Oh c'mon!" exclaimed Tenten.

Unfortunately, it seemed at this point, she was fresh out of weapons.

"Oh man...what am I going to do?" asked the teenage girl.

It seemed that her chakra reserves were running low as well.

Tenten sighed.

It looked like she wasn't going to the finals.

She raised her hand.

"Yes, Tenten?" asked Ozpin.

"Ozpin, can I withdraw? I think at this point I'm kind of spent..." answered Tenten.

Ozpin nodded.

"Yes, you may." answered the white-haired man.

Tenten pulled out a scroll and her weapons disappeared.

"Well, at least you tried to fight me. Rest assured there's no shame in losing to someone whose won so many fights..." noted Pyrrha.

"I suppose I can aspire to be like you." stated Tenten.

"You might be be better off being your own person." pointed out the red-headed girl.

"True..." answered the long-distance fighter.

"That was a good battle...though I wish that Tenten could have won." noted Dr. Oobleck.

"How was she supposed to win against a warrior that was invincible?" asked Neptune. If Pyrrha had a weakness, they were still looking for it.

"Surely there has to be someone out there that's a match for Pyrrha." answered the green-haired jonin.

Of course, he was still looking for that person.

"I have to admit, my team isn't doing well at the Chunin Exam preliminaries..." noted Tenten.

Hopefully at least Sai would be able to win his fight.

"I have to admit, I'm glad that Pyrrha is on our team." noted Sun.

"So am I." agreed Neptune.

If they ever decided to compete on an official tournament, Pyrrha would certainly be a BIG help to them.

On the other hand, Cardin could potentially hold them back. He had been known to be reckless in fights.

But since he had taken a beating from Hinata maybe he would be a changed man.

As before, the computer began to shuffle.

Of course, there weren't many ninja left at this point, so there weren't a lot of possibilities for matchups.

Eventually, it stopped once again, though this time it was rather quick due to the lack of remaining ninja.

 **SUN WUKONG VS TEMARI SABAKU**

Temari smirked. It looked like since she was the oldest of the Sand Siblings she got to go first.

"I guess I'm the last one to go out of all my teammates." stated Sun Wukong.

"I've been looking forward to seeing these guys in action." answered Naruto. He wondered what the ninja at Atlas were like. They were from a military-based kingdom so they were likely strong.

On the other hand, Gaara creeped him out. He was probably fortunate that he didn't get paired up with him. Instead, he got paired up with a cat girl.

He felt like he and Gaara had something in common, though he wasn't quite sure.

Maybe they both liked ramen?

Sun Wukong and Temari entered the battlefield.

"I have to admit, you're awfully pretty." stated Sun.

"Don't assume I spend all my time buying fashion accessories." answered Temari. That was not how she rolled.

Temari pulled out a fan.

"What's this? It seems that you're fond of wind release techniques." noted Sun.

"As a matter of fact, I am. I've been fond of the wind since I'm young, so I figured, why not practice wind release techniques?" asked Temari.

"Just for the record, I'm not afraid of the wind like my buddy Neptune is afraid of the water." answered the monkey Faunus.

"I've got to work on my hydrophobia..." remarked Neptune.

"After this match, you probably will be." noted Temari.

"Whoa! Someone's confident in their abilities!" exclaimed Sun.

"Well, I am the eldest daughter of the Fourth Kazekage..." answered the kunoichi. Despite this, she was not chosen to have Atlas's resident tailed beast stored inside of her.

Sun Wukong pulled out his weapons, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang.

"When you're ready, fight!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Temari attacked first, firing a gust of wind from her fan.

"How it is windy in here? Did someone forget to close the windows?" asked Sun.

"It's from my fan, monkey boy." answered Temari.

"Monkey boy?" questioned Sun.

Temari got ready to fire another burst of wind.

Suddenly, she tripped under a banana peel.

Temari gasped.

Sun Wukong giggled. He certainly enjoyed eating his bananas...and occasionally DRIVING people bananas.

Kankuro couldn't help but chuckle at his sister's expense as well. That actually WAS rather amusing.

"So, you like playing jokes, huh? Well, try laughing at this!" exclaimed Temari.

Temari waved her fan, and a tornado was sent flying towards Sun's way.

"I don't think I want that to hit me." noted Sun.

Quickly, Sun Wukong ran out of the way of the tornado.

He kept running away until the tornado disappeared.

"You're fast on your feet, I'll give you that." noted Temari.

"Of course I am. I'm as agile as...well, a monkey." answered Sun.

In retaliation, Sun began to shoot at Temari with his nunchaku.

However, Temari blocked the bullets with her fan.

"Once you see three moons, you'll know that you've lost the fight." stated Temari.

"You're going to moon me?!" exclaimed Sun, his cheeks turning red.

Temari blushed.

"What? Of course not! I'm talking about the moons on my fan!" shouted Temari.

Temari pointed to the moon on her fan.

Sun noted that it was rather ironic that he (who was named after the sun) was going up against someone who had moons on her fan.

Temari opened her fan wider and another moon appeared.

As before, Temari launched a gust of wind from her fan.

This time, it was more potent than before. Sun Wukong was forced to brace himself.

Since for some strange reason, Temari's fan of war was bulletproof, Sun Wukong decided to change his nunchucks into a staff.

"Changing tactics, are we? That's actually not a bad idea." noted Temari.

She was expecting her fight in the Chunin Exam preliminaries to be boring, but Sun was proving her wrong.

Sun Wukong rushed towards Temari with his staff.

Temari blocked the staff with her fan.

"This is one strong defense..." noted Sun Wukong.

He was going to have to try using more firepower.

This time, he summoned some clones of himself.

"You're summoning clones? Well, they do say monkeys tend to live in colonies..." stated Temari.

"They certainly do!" exclaimed Sun Wukong.

However, these weren't ordinary clones.

Temari pulled out her fan, attempting to defend herself with it as before. Shuriken and kunai wouldn't damage it.

However, much to her surprise, the clones ended up exploding.

"Wah-" exclaimed Temari.

Temari was knocked backwards several feet.

"Come on, Temari! Don't let this faunus make a monkey out of you!" exclaimed Kankuro.

"I dare say I won't." answered Temari.

This time, Temari decided to expand her fan to its fullest.

Now there were three moons.

Pyrrha couldn't help but feel worried. Didn't Temari say that once there were three moons, she would beat Sun?

It looked as if that was about to be put to the test.

Temari swung her fan, and this time a powerful gust of wind was sent flying towards Sun.

"Ahhhh!" exclaimed Sun.

Neptune gasped.

"Sun!" shouted Neptune.

"I can't...hold on." noted Sun.

Sun was sent flying and crashed into the wall.

"Ow...gosh, this wall sure is sturdy." noted Sun.

"Had enough yet?" asked Temari.

"Nope." answered the monkey Faunus.

Sun Wukong focused his energy, and launched a solar beam at Temari.

"Wha-" exclaimed Temari.

Temari was just barely able to shield herself from the blast.

Sun Wukong was visibly exhausted after using that particular technique.

"Alright, now I'm spent." said Sun Wukong.

"Very well. Temari Wakabu is the victor." stated Ozpin.

"Ha! I knew that she would win!" exclaimed Kankuro. Personally he got the feeling that Temari was going to be a jonin someday.

Maybe his brother would be Kazekage. That was who his father was after all.

"If it makes you feel any better, fighting you was even more fun than a barrel of monkeys." noted Temari.

Sun Wukong chuckled.

"What is with all these monkey puns?" asked Yang.

"Don't you like making puns, sis?" asked Ruby.

"Well yeah...but don't you think there should be a little variety?" inquired the blonde girl.

"Like...what?" asked the teenage girl.

"I guess Temari ended up blocking out the sun!" exclaimed Yang.

Ruby giggled.

The computer once again began to shuffle.

It stopped once again.

 **SAI YAMANAKA VS. ILIA AMITOLA**

"Hey, I think this artist is in the same clan as you!" exclaimed Nora.

"I haven't seen him use mind switching techniques though..." stated Shikamaru.

"That is kind of odd." remarked Ino.

Sai and Ilia entered the arena.

"I sure hope she does better than Zaku did..." said Kin.

"I can't help but feel sorry for the poor guy..." noted Dosu.

"I'll say! I wonder if he'll ever recover..." remarked the teenage girl.

Time would only tell.

 _Well, Tenten's fight with Pyrrha didn't go too well. Then again, you can't expect anything less from someone whose known as the invincible warrior. And to think that she's still a genin._

 _I figured that Sun Wukong has a mischievous side, why not put him up against someone with a "no-nonsense" attitude? Of course, that no-nonsense character managed to win, and her name was Temari. On the lighter side, she was friendlier towards him than she was towards Tenten in canon._


	21. Chapter 21: End Of Preliminaries

Hello _there! Unfortunately, I was experiencing errors with the doc manager up until now. Luckily it seems that things have gone to normal._

 _In this chapter, we'll see how Sai's fight with Ilia turns out. We'll also see Kankuro in action._

 _There will also be foreshadowing in this chapter._

 _Fun fact: Ilia is LGBT._

 **Chapter 21: End Of Preliminaries**

Sai and Ilia both entered the arena.

Curious, Sai noticed that Ilia was glaring at him.

It seemed that she wasn't fond of humans.

Unfortunately for Ilia, her parents had passed away during a disaster at the Schnee dust mines.

Granted, Jacques Schnee didn't DELIBERATELY kill her parents, but she got the feeling that if Jacques had taken better care of his Faunus employees, they would still be alive.

Ilia wondered why Blake would choose to be friends with a group of humans. It was baffling to her.

Personally she wished that she would be with her along with the rest of the White Fang.

She did have a crush on her back when she was younger.

But things had changed.

"When you're ready, fight!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Ilia nodded. She decided to attack first, extending her whip towards her opponent.

However, Sai leapt out of the way before she could hit him.

"I have to admit, she's fast." thought Sai.

Hopefully she would be able to beat her human opponent, Ilia thought to herself.

Personally she wished that Blake could have beaten that blonde boy who had summoned those clones.

But as it was, Blake had ended up losing to him.

Rumor has it that Naruto had a nine-tailed fox living inside him.

Wait...if that was the case, was Naruto basically a Faunus himself? He did have those whisker marks on his face.

She wasn't sure.

She kept trying to strike Sai with his whip, but he was on his guard.

Perhaps it would be best if she changed tactics.

She decided to cloak herself.

Sai wondered where his opponent had wandered off to.

Suddenly, he found himself being struck by a whip.

Sai wondered what was going on.

"Ow! Ouch!" exclaimed the artist, who now had whip marks on his face.

"What's going on?" asked Naruto.

"Oh that...Ilia happens to be a chameleon Faunus." stated Blake.

"She is?" inquired Ruby.

"Yes, she is. Because of that, she can blend in with her surroundings pretty well. It's pretty useful for stealth." said the cat Faunus.

Personally she wished the days back when she and Ilia were friends. But unfortunately, that was no longer true.

Sai wondered how he was supposed to defend himself from an invisible opponent.

He just had no way of knowing where his opponent was going to attack from next.

Suddenly, he thought of something.

What if he were to try splashing his opponent with ink?

He decided to do just that.

He ended up succeeding.

"Darn it! You ruined my outfit!" exclaimed Ilia.

She then realized she was visible again.

"Uh-Oh." said the Faunus girl.

Now that Ilia was visible, Sai decided it was about time for him to go on the offensive.

He decided to attack Ilia using birds.

Ilia found herself being pecked.

"Get them off me!" exclaimed Ilia.

"I feel a sense of deja vu..." stated Hinata, recalling her fight with Cardin. Luckily, she had healed up from that match pretty quickly.

However, unlike Hinata, Ilia was willing to fight back right from the getgo.

She applied some electric dust to her whip.

She then started zapping the birds that were attacking her.

The birds gradually began to burst into ink.

Eventually, they were all gone.

Ilia then swung her whip towards Sai and zapped him, causing him to scream.

However, Sai managed to summon several snakes using his ink.

"Why is he summoning snakes? Ilia's the sound genin..." thought Orochimaru.

The snakes began to bite Ilia, causing her to screech.

However, Ilia decided to add fire dust to her whip.

She then began to cause the ink snakes to melt.

Ilia noted that if she had water release techniques or simply water dust, she could probably erase Sai's ink summons with them.

She then burned Sai using the whip.

Getting desperate, Sai decided to try summoning a tiger.

However, doing so used up a lot of ink.

He decided that if he was going to use it, he was going to have to make it count.

Fortunately, he did make it count.

The tiger immediately began to maul Ilia.

"Aaahhhh!" exclaimed Ilia.

Desperately, she used ice dust to freeze the tiger.

However, at this point, she had spent the majority of her chakra.

Not only that, but she was fresh out of dust.

Unfortunately, dust did not grow on trees. If it did, the First Hokage would have been unstoppable out on the battlefield.

So, she decided to attack Sai with her whip and hope it worked.

But unfortunately for her, Sai grabbed onto the whip, and proceeded to toss her into a nearby wall.

Ilia was knocked out cold.

"The winner is Sai." said Ozpin.

"I'm starting to question whether Adam trained his troops hard enough." questioned Orochimaru.

"Dang it! We lost again!" exclaimed Kin.

Dosu sighed. First Zaku and now this.

At that very moment, two medical ninja arrived to take Ilia to the ninja hospital.

"I'll carry her." said Sai.

Sai picked up Ilia and carried her to the stretcher.

Ilia woke up and noticed Sai carrying her around.

She felt confused. Since when were humans helpful towards the Faunus?

She wasn't sure how she felt.

As soon as Ilia had left the building, the screen began to shuffle once again.

This time, it stopped on another sound ninja.

 **KIN TSUCHI VS KANKURO SABAKU**

"I'm looking forward to making you look like a cactus!" exclaimed Kin.

"Try me." answered Kankuro.

"When you're ready, begin!" ordered Ozpin.

"I was born ready!" exclaimed Kin.

Unsurprisingly, Kin started off by firing some of her senbon.

They hit Kankuro head-on.

Kin smirked. Once again her aim hadn't been off at all.

Tenten noted that if she had fought Kin, it would have been an interesting matchup.

However, she was glad that she got to fight her idol, so she decided not to complain.

But for some strange reason, they didn't make Kankuro flinch.

"What?" asked Kin.

Kin didn't know what exactly was going on.

She decided to toss more senbon.

But as before, Kankuro wasn't affected.

"Dang! This guy is tough! My senbon aren't doing much..." thought Kin.

Well, at least her opponent wasn't going to be a pushover. That would be pretty disappointing.

She decided maybe she needed some more firepower.

So, she decided to summon some shadow clones.

She had to admit, having the ability to summon clones did come in handy. No wonder Naruto summoned copies of himself all the time.

On the other hand, she probably didn't have as much chakra as Naruto did. He had a freaking nine-tails fox living inside him.

Now that she had summoned some shadow clones, she could now fire more senbon at once.

She decided to do just that.

However, for some strange reason, Kankuro wasn't attacking at all.

"I don't get it...why isn't he fighting back?" asked Kin to herself.

He was just standing there.

Kin fired more and more senbon.

However, the senbon had no effect.

"Sheesh! This guy's made of steel!" exclaimed Naruto.

"People have compared my sand to steel now that I think of it..." noted Gaara. It did make for a good defense.

"I know..." nodded Ruby.

However, there seemed to be something off about Kankuro. He didn't seem...lifelike.

She wondered what was going on.

"C'mon! Pass out already! I want to settle this quickly!" exclaimed Kin.

Kin kept firing senbon.

At this point, Kankuro had no less two dozen senbon in his skin.

Even so, he kept taking the hits.

"What kind of monster are you?" bellowed Kin.

Kin continued firing senbon.

However, she eventually ran out of them.

Even so, Kankuro was still standing.

"That was my last senbon...what's going on here?" asked Kin.

Suddenly, she heard chuckling.

It was coming from Kankuro.

"I knew you would run out sooner or later. I just needed to bide my time..." stated Kankuro.

"What?!" exclaimed Kin.

Suddenly, sand began leaking from Kankuro.

When the sand fell to the ground, it quickly became apparent who "Kankuro" really was.

As it turned out, "Kankuro" was really his puppet, Crow.

"Wait a minute...where's the real Kankuro?" inquired Kin.

"Right here..." answered Kankuro.

The real Kankuro emerged from the pack on Crow's back.

"I've been hoodwinked..." said Kin.

"You must certainly have." answered Kankuro.

"That was a pretty clever strategy." noted Temari.

It made her wish that she had thought of it.

Then again, she hadn't shown interest in puppetry like her brother.

"Now that you've used up all your senbon, I think it's my turn to attack, wouldn't you say?" asked Kankuro.

Kin gulped.

Kankuro then proceeded to launch several kunai from Crow's mouth at Kin.

One by one, all of Kin's clones burst into smoke.

"Aah! My clones!" shouted Kin.

"Dang! I'm glad that I didn't get paired up with him at the exams!" exclaimed Naruto.

"I know." nodded Yang. Kankuro's puppet probably would have made mincemeat out of them.

"Right...you said that you wanted to end this quickly, right? Well, consider it done!" answered Kankuro.

Kankuro directed the puppet to move towards Kin.

"Huh?" asked Kin.

The puppet then proceeded to spray Kin with knockout gas.

"Two brothers am I feeling sleepy..." said the kunoichi.

Kin passed out on the floor.

"Since Kin has fallen asleep, I declare Kankuro to be the victor." stated Ozpin.

"Well, that was disappointing. I sure hope my next opponent is more of a challenge." stated Kankuro.

"Not another one of my teammates..." thought Dosu.

"That was awesome!" exclaimed Yang. Of course, if she had been paired up with Kin, her senbon would probably do little more than aggravate her, and people didn't like her when she was angry.

"If I were fighting him I would have realized Kankuro's ploy right from the start." stated Sasuke. His Sharingan would have noticed the real Kankuro and his chakra threads.

"I suppose you probably would." answered Naruto.

But as it was, Sasuke had been paired up with Rock Lee. Though he definitely wasn't outclassed against him given that he was fairly decent at taijutsu himself, he had still lost in the end, thanks to him finally learning how to use ninjutsu.

Now that he thought of it, Might Guy had eventually learned how to use ninjutsu himself. Perhaps Rock Lee was learning things faster than he was.

Orochimaru was disappointed that another sound genin had lost their fight. Though for the sake of fairness, she had been up against one of the Sand Siblings.

Curious, Naruto noticed that the computer was shuffling again.

Since there were only four genin left, it stopped rather quickly.

 **DOSU KINATA VS GAARA SABAKU**

"Man, do I feel bad for him." noted Kankuro.

"He has no idea who he's up against." stated Temari.

Gaara stepped into the arena.

Dosu did as well.

For some strange reason he was up against a small boy. He didn't look so tough.

However, his older siblings seemed to think he was dangerous.

Perhaps he should approach the battle with caution.

Akamaru began to whimper.

"What's the matter?" asked Kiba.

"Ruff." said Akamaru.

"He has lots of chakra emanating from him? That does sound scary." noted Kiba.

Zwei was starting to whimper as well.

Apparently, he also had the ability to sense chakra.

"When you're ready, fight!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Dosu attacked first...at a surprising speed.

However, Gaara blocked it with his sand shield.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Naruto. This guy was fast.

But of course, so was Gaara's sand. It was part of why the sand shield was a reliable defense against his foes.

"Just how fast is Dosu?" asked Kankuro.

"He's moving at 1088 feet per second...or at the speed of sound." answered Penny.

"How do you know that?" inquired Temari.

"Well..." stated the girl.

"You must be studying your science." noted Kankuro.

"Um, yeah." nodded Penny.

She hiccuped.

"Darn it! Why can't I get past his sand?" asked Dosu.

As soon as he said, Dosu suddenly punched Gaara in the face.

"Aah!" exclaimed Gaara.

"I guess I spoke too soon." noted the sound ninja.

Orochimaru smirked. It looked like he had taught Dosu well.

"Wait, did he just get past Gaara's defenses?" inquired Temari.

"I don't believe it!" exclaimed Kankuro.

"Perhaps he's faster than Gaara's sand can keep up with." suggested Penny.

"I'm surprised..." answered the puppetmaster.

Curious, Gaara wondered what this strange sensation he was feeling was. He had never experienced pain before thanks to his sand shield.

In retaliation, he began to attack Dosu with sand.

Frantically, Dosu attempted to avoid it as it chased after him.

It was like he was fighting an ocean of sand.

"He really is the son of the Fourth Kazekage..." noted Orochimaru.

Maybe some day he would become the Fifth Kazekage. He certainly had talent.

Wouldn't that be a sight to behold.

Personally he wondered if Atlas had a monument with the Kazekages' faces carved onto it like Vale did. That would be interesting.

Dosu decided maybe he would lose concentration if he used his sound abilities.

So, he decided to use his Resonating Echo Speaker.

It worked...for a few seconds.

Unfortunately, sand began to clog up Gaara's ears to protect himself from Dosu's sound.

Dosu sighed. It had been worth a shot.

Just how were you supposed to get past Gaara's defenses?

Well, apparently, you could get past the sand defense if you were fast enough. However, even with his extreme speed, he was still having a hard time hitting Gaara.

Gaara continued to launch sand from his gourd at Dosu.

However, Dosu was anything if not quick, and he continued advancing towards Gaara.

Once again, Gaara found himself being punched.

But when he was punched, he dissolved into sand.

"It looks like I hit a sand clone..." noted Dosu.

The real Gaara showed up behind him.

However, Dosu turned around and punched Gaara again.

But this time, he ended up hitting his sand armor.

The sand armor crumbled shortly afterwards.

"He must be serious if he's using his sand armor..." stated Temari.

"Oh yes! It costs a lot of chakra to maintain that sand armor..." remarked Penny.

"How do you know these things?" asked the kunoichi. Penny had only been on his team for a few weeks at the most.

"I can detect chakra?" answered the mysterious girl.

Since that was a half-truth, Penny didn't hiccup this time.

"You're a strange girl..." remarked Temari.

"I get that a lot." nodded Penny.

Dosu attempted to kick Gaara, but the sand grabbed his leg.

"What?" asked Dosu.

It then began to swing him around wildly.

Dosu began to feel sick to his stomach.

"Things do NOT look good for him." remarked Shino.

Eventually, the sand made him crash into the ceiling.

Dosu crashed to the ground.

"That HAS gotta hurt." remarked Yang.

"You think?" answered Sasuke.

"You...are one strong genin." noted Dosu.

Personally he wished that he could have fought a weaker opponent, but apparently it was just his bad luck.

Dosu passed out.

"That was quite a show. Our winner is Gaara Wakabu." stated Ozpin.

Gaara smirked. He was a fool for challenging him, he thought.

Orochimaru sighed. Not one of his sound genin had managed to make it to the finals.

Like his companions before him, Dosu was carried away on a stretcher. Maybe they would share the same room.

To be fair, two of them had gone up against the Sand Siblings, so perhaps they had simply been unlucky.

"Man, I am glad that I didn't have to face him in the preliminaries." noted Naruto.

"Me too." nodded Ruby. Of course, if Dosu was any indication, she might be able to get past Gaara's defenses with extreme speed.

Even so, she was glad that she got Kiba as an opponent. It was fun challenging him and his pet with Zwei at his side.

"Darn...I wonder if there's anyone that can beat Gaara..." thought Weiss.

"Well, since Penny Polendina and Misumi Tsurugi are the only ones left, I guess they get paired together by default." stated Ozpin.

Misumi smirked. A grown man like him up against a little girl?

This would be easy...or so he thought.

Personally, the Sand Siblings were starting to get the feeling that Penny was more than just a little girl.

"When you're ready, begin!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Misumi attacked first. For some strange reason, his arm stretched like rubber.

"Man! I wish that I could do that!" exclaimed Naruto.

"But if you did that, you'd get sued by Luffy for copyright infringement..." pointed out Ruby.

"Huh?" asked the blonde genin.

"Never mind." answered the brunette girl.

Misumi ended up punching Penny in the face.

But for some strange reason, he felt like he had hit something hard.

"What?" asked Misumi.

Penny giggled.

"That tickles!" exclaimed Penny.

Misumi followed by kicking Penny in the shin.

But as before, he felt like he had hit something hard.

Penny giggled.

"What is going on here?" asked Misumi.

"Why do you keep tickling me?" inquired Penny.

"Let's see if THIS tickles!" exclaimed the elastic ninja.

Suddenly, he stretched out both of his arms and grappled Penny.

"It looks like Penny's in a bind..." stated Yang.

"Was the pun intentional?" asked Sasuke.

"Actually, it wasn't intentional that time." answered the blonde girl.

Sasuke shrugged.

Gradually, the arms began to tighten.

However, for some strange reason, it didn't seem to have any effect on Penny.

"What's going on? She should be suffocating!" thought Misumi.

And yet, Penny seemed to be fine.

"It's as if she doesn't need oxygen at all..." questioned Kabuto's lackey.

Misumi tried tightening his arms, but Penny didn't seem to notice what was going on at all.

"What's going on? If I were being squeezed like that I would likely be crying uncle!" exclaimed Jaune.

"Wasn't that one of Cardin's favorite games? Playing uncle?" asked Hinata.

"Yeah...he was a bad genin. Perhaps it was a good thing that you beat him up." answered Jaune. Personally he wouldn't tolerate it if Cardin was bullying HIS friends.

"Well, at the time, I was kind of burning with anger. It was an unusual experience for me." noted the kunoichi.

"Yeah...I've seen Kiba angry but not you or Blake." stated the blonde.

Hinata nodded.

Eventually, Misumi let go out of Penny.

"Wha-what are you?" asked Misumi.

Penny stretched out her arms.

"Huh?" inquired the young man.

"You like to hug people? That's really sweet! Allow me to return the favor!" shouted Penny.

Before Misumi could react, Penny ran over to Misumi and started hugging him.

Unfortunately for Misumi, though the gesture was affectionate, it was NOT a pleasant experience for him.

"Gahhhhhhh!" exclaimed Misumi as he felt several of his bones crack.

Misumi collapsed on the ground.

"Whoops! Sorry!" apologized Penny. She had forgotten her own strength.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened here, but it looks like our winner is Penny Polendina." stated Ozpin.

Kankuro had to admit, he was worried how Penny was going to do during the preliminaries without anyone to protect her.

However, Penny Polendina had managed to beat her opponent with ease. In fact, it didn't seem like she was aware that she was in the middle of a fight.

This made him wonder why her father wanted protection for her in the first place.

"Whoever managed to make it to the finals, congratulations. You will have a chance to prove yourself to the judges whether you're ready to become a chunin or not. As for those of who didn't...well, considering you managed to pass both the first and second stages of the exam, you'll likely have a decent chance of becoming a chunin in the future. Now then, based on your skills and abilities, we'll be deciding who you face first in the finals." stated Ozpin.

Everyone wondered who they were going to be paired up with.

It was a mystery.

 _Whose going to be paired up with who at the Chunin Exam finals? In case you had forgotten, the finalists are Naruto, Ruby, Yang, Jaune, Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino, Nora, Rock Lee, Weiss, Neji, Pyrrha, Sai, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, and Penny._

 _It's kind of a long list, I know._

 _I hope you're looking forward to the finals! However, since the finals are a month from the preliminaries they're not going to happen right away._

 _So until then, I hope you enjoy what comes before it._


	22. Chapter 22: Princess And The Toad

_In this chapter, we're going to see who gets matched up with who at the Chunin Exam finals...I already told you who made it to the finals, right? If so, I probably won't need to repeat myself._

 **Chapter 21: Princess And The Toad**

"Alright, I'm back with the matchups the judges have decided." stated Ozpin.

The finalists read their papers to see who was going to face who.

 **NORA VALKYRIE VS NEJI HYUGA**

"Alright! Payback time!" exclaimed Nora.

Neji wondered why he had been paired up with a "weak" opponent.

Surely he could have been faced against a stronger opponent than this.

He wondered if the judges knew what they were doing.

 **NARUTO UZUMAKI VS RUBY ROSE**

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

"Why are we facing each other?" inquired Ruby.

"Well, you two were a decent match for each other's abilities." answered Ozpin.

"True..." nodded Naruto.

"Think of it as a friendly match." said the advisor.

"OK!" exclaimed Ruby.

Of course, now that she thought of it, their matchups at the preliminaries were decent matchups as well, considering their opponents had similar abilities to them,

 **JAUNE ARC VS HINATA HYUGA**

"Are we a good matchup?" asked Jaune. He preferred his sword and shield while Hinata preferred fist fighting.

"You both have large amounts of chakra, so yes!" exclaimed Ozpin.

Hinata shook Jaune's hand.

Jaune smiled.

Hopefully this would give them the chance to practice their skills.

 **YANG XIAO LONG VS TEMARI WAKABU**

"Huh. She does remind me of myself now that I think of it." noted Temari.

"You kind of do." nodded Yang.

On the other hand, she didn't have the same sense of humor that she did, given how she interacted with Sun.

"Try not to break wind during our fight!" exclaimed the blonde.

Temari rolled her eyes.

 **INO YAMANAKA VS PENNY POLENDINA**

"Alright! This is going to be fun!" exclaimed Penny.

Ino noted that it was appropriate considering they both defeated the two scientist genin.

Penny asked Ino for a high-five.

"Sure." nodded Ino.

Penny smiled.

Ino gave Penny a high-five.

 **PYRRHA NIKOS VS KANKURO WAKABU**

Personally Pyrrha wondered if she was going to pass this tournament like she had done several times before.

"Huh? Why her of all people?" asked Kankuro.

"You said you wanted a greater challenge, didn't you?" inquired Ozpin.

"Alright then." answered the puppetmaster. Personally he didn't think any of the Vale ninja were a match for his skills.

 **SHIKAMARU NARA VS WEISS SCHNEE**

"I got matched up with the lazy guy?" asked Weiss.

"I will admit that he is a slacker but he is rather intelligent like you." answered Ozpin.

Shikamaru yawned.

"True..." nodded Weiss. Both of them had discovered their opponent's weaknesses, though in Weiss's case she had discovered it accidentally.

"I'm going back home so that I can nap in my bed..." said Shikamaru.

 **ROCK LEE VS GAARA WAKABU**

"I get to face him?" questioned Rock Lee.

He couldn't help but feel worried.

Still, if that's what the judges had decided, then maybe he did stand a chance.

"What about me?" asked Sai.

"Oh that...since there's seventeen finalists, we decided that whoever wins between Ino and Penny, you get to face them in the finals." stated Ozpin.

Sai shrugged. That seemed reasonable.

"It will be a month before the finals begin, so I suggest you try to train yourselves until then." suggested the silver-haired man.

The seventeen finalists nodded.

Immediately, they left the tower where the preliminaries had been held.

 _A short while later..._

Weiss Schnee received a call on her scroll as she left the dust store.

She realized that it was from her father, Jacques Schnee.

Weiss sighed. What did he want?

She reluctantly answered the phone.

"Yes, dad?" asked Weiss.

"I see you passed the Chunin Exam preliminaries! Good job!" exclaimed Jacques.

"Uh-huh." stated the white-haired girl. For once she had made her daddy proud.

"Since you have a month before the finals, I'm sending someone to instruct you in your training." said the man.

"Is it Winter?" asked Weiss.

"What? No! It's Whitley!" exclaimed Jacques.

Weiss groaned. Not her younger brother Whitley.

"He should be with you in just a few moments." stated the man.

Sure enough, Whitley departed from a nearby bus carrying a suitcase.

"But-" exclaimed Weiss.

Jacques Schnee hung up on his daughter.

Weiss groaned.

"Hey there, big sis!" exclaimed Whitley.

"Hey, Whitley..." said Weiss, rolling her eyes. Whitley was probably the most annoying younger brother in the world.

The kicker? Her own father made him that way, because he kept spoiling him.

Personally Rock Lee was more of a brother to her than Whitley was. He didn't annoy her ever since he had decided that he would treat Weiss more like a friend than a lover.

"Ready for your training exercises?" asked Whitley.

"Whatever." answered Weiss.

Whitley handed Weiss a list of her "training exercises."

"Let's see now...water your plants...buy you some candy...give you a haircut...order some pizza...wait a minute, these aren't training exercises! These are YOUR chores!" exclaimed the white-haired girl.

Whitley smirked.

"Nuh-uh! You aren't weaseling your way out of your chores!" exclaimed Weiss, crossing her arms.

"My dad put me in charge! So you have to do everything I say!" bellowed Whitley.

Weiss groaned. It looked like she was stuck doing labor while her opponent slacked off.

Suddenly, Whitley noticed something that was rather strange. He raised an eyebrow.

"Is that old man spying on girls in the bathhouse?" asked Whitley.

Weiss turned around.

As it turned out, there was an old man who was doing exactly that.

Weiss became angry.

She decided to confront the old man.

"What do you think you're doing?" exclaimed Weiss, turning the old man around so that he was facing him.

"Whoa!" shouted the man.

"Those ladies need their privacy! Leave them alone!" shouted the swords lady. Granted, some of the ladies in the bathhouse were admittedly pretty sexy, but still!

"I was doing research for my novel!" exclaimed the man.

Curious, Weiss noticed that the man was carrying an Icha Icha novel with him.

"Wait, you're Jiraiya, the author of the Icha Icha novels!" exclaimed Weiss.

"I certainly am!" shouted Jiraiya.

"General Ironwood sure is fond of those novels...anyways, stop spying on girls in the bath!" demanded the white-haired girl.

"Fine...I'm just about done with my research anyway." stated Jiraiya.

Jiraiya leapt away.

Weiss went back to Whitley.

"Did you take care of that peeping tom?" asked Whitley.

Weiss nodded.

"I have to admit, he must be a real loser if he's resorting to spying on girls in the bath..." stated the white-haired boy.

"Well..." answered the white-haired girl.

"I bet he's never had a girlfriend!" exclaimed Whitley.

Suddenly, Weiss noticed that Jiraiya was approaching him.

"Um, Whitley..." said Weiss.

"Not now, big sis! I'm insulting the old fool who likes spying on girls! I bet the only girl who loves him is his mother!" exclaimed Whitley.

Weiss shook her head. This was not a good idea to insult him within his earshot.

However, Whitley decided to insult the old man anyway.

"I bet Loser is his middle n-"

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" asked Jiraiya.

"So? What are you going to do about it?" inquired Whitley.

"I'll have you know that I'm one of the three legendary Sannin." answered the Sannin.

"Yeah, right! Like I haven't heard that one before..." stated Whitley.

"Um, Whitley, I think he might be telling the truth..." warned Weiss. His forehead protector did indicate that he was affiliated with toads, which wasn't unlike that of one of the Sannin.

"Sure he is!" exclaimed the white-haired boy.

Whitley tightened his fists.

"Put 'em up!" shouted Whitley.

Jiraiya poked Whitley with his pointer finger, and Whitley collapsed on the ground.

"Aah! That really hurt..." noted Whitley.

Whitley passed out.

"Well, hopefully now he won't doubt that I'm one of the legendary Sannin..." noted Jiraiya. Of course, one of his friends had been one of the legendary Sannin, but apparently his desire for immortality had driven him to the dark side. Perhaps he didn't want to share the same fate as his parents.

Well, it was too late to change the past.

Weiss was looking at him with astonishment.

"I'm sorry, was that a friend of yours?" asked Jiraiya.

"My brother, actually." answered Weiss.

"I'm so sorry." stated the Sannin.

"Well, to be honest, he kind of had it coming. He's been full of himself for ages." noted the white-haired girl.

"Really?" inquired Jiraiya.

"Uh-huh. Apparently he thinks he's going to inherit my dad's dust company someday. Granted, considering that he's the spitting image of his father, maybe he WILL inherit my dad's dust company some day." noted Weiss.

"It sounds like he's a real pain." acknowledged the Sannin.

"You bet he is. But on the other hand, he was my tutor. How am I going to do my training without him? I'd ask Might Guy, but right now he's training with Rock Lee. Like me, he managed to win at the Chunin Exams."

"I see...in that case, would you like me to tutor you?" asked Jiraiya.

"Huh?" inquired Weiss.

"Since you're a pretty girl, I figure why not." answered the Sannin.

"Just don't do anything funny and I'll accept the offer." stated Weiss, stretching out her hand.

Jiraiya nodded and shook Weiss's hand.

Nearby, Ruby was hanging out with Penny.

"Isn't it great that we both made it to the finals?" asked Penny.

"It certainly is, Penny." nodded Ruby.

She had to admit, Penny did surprisingly well in a fight.

Suddenly, they began to hear the sound of a truck.

"Huh?" asked Ruby.

As it turned out, there was a driver driving drunk.

He was carrying a truck full of dust, meaning there could be a large dust explosion if he wasn't stopped. Ruby had learned how explosive dust could be after accidentally bumping into Weiss at Beacon Academy.

"I am sho drunk that it hurts!" exclaimed the drunk driver. He had consumed a lot of alcohol at the party they had celebrating the anniversary of the Schnee Dust Company less than an hour ago.

"Ruby, look out!" shouted Penny.

Penny pushed Ruby out of the way...then began to push against the truck.

It stopped right in its tracks.

"Whoa! You are one strong girl!" exclaimed Ruby. She wasn't sure even her big sister was able to do that.

Penny nodded.

Suddenly, Ruby noticed something strange.

For some strange reason, Penny was dripping oil from her hands.

"Um, Penny, why are you dripping oil from your palms?" asked Ruby.

Penny sighed.

It looked like she was going to have to tell the truth to someone sooner or later...other than her father of course. He already knew the truth, though he wasn't going to admit it.

"Well, if you must know...I'm a robot." answered Penny.

"What?!" exclaimed the kunoichi.

"Mm-hmm. Instead of being born, I was built." stated the robotic girl.

"Who created you? Was it General Ironwood?" asked Ruby.

"It was a man by the name of Dr. Argent actually. He says that I'm his daughter." explained Penny.

"There's one thing I don't understand though...if you're a robot, how come you can act like a human?" inquired the teenage girl. It was confusing.

"Well, if you must know, my papa Dr. Argent gave me a soul..." answered the robot girl.

"He did?" asked Ruby.

"Yep...apparently he wanted me to be just like a human...I'm not quite sure why." stated Penny.

Maybe she should ask him sometime.

"Well, just because you're a robot doesn't mean we can't be friends. I hope you do well at the Chunin Exam finals and you become chunin!" exclaimed Ruby.

Penny nodded.

Hopefully the judges would be lenient with them.

She decided to contact her father.

"How are you doing, Penny?" asked Dr. Argent.

"Pretty good. I made a friend!" exclaimed Penny.

"That's good. I had to question why you decided to fight against the Grimm though." answered the scientist.

"I feel like since I'm strong I should put my talents to good use!" exclaimed Penny.

"Well, you do have a point." stated the man. Still, she wished that Penny would remain at his side instead of going on dangerous missions.

"Did you pass the Chunin Exam preliminaries?"

"Yes, I did!" exclaimed Penny.

"Very good." stated Dr. Argent. Sometimes he wondered if he was being too overprotective of Penny.

However, after remembering what had happened last time, he decided that he could never be too careful.

"Don't get hurt during the Chunin Exam finals!" exclaimed the scientist.

"I won't, I won't." answered Penny.

 _Meanwhile..._

"I have to admit, it was pretty impressive that we managed to get a full sweep through the finals." stated Temari.

"I was worried that Penny would lose, but she totally managed to demolish her opponent." noted Kankuro. In fact, it didn't seem like she even realized that she was in a fight.

It seemed she was kind of naive.

However, they couldn't help but feel a bit worried about Gaara.

No doubt he would look for an opportunity to satiate his bloodlust.

Whenever he was in a killing mood, it would probably be best not to approach him.

Granted, since they were his siblings, they could probably defend themselves better than most.

But even so, they didn't want to risk being attacked by him. He had a monster living inside of him ever since he was born.

In fact, it had been his father's idea. Apparently, he decided that the monster was compatible with his younger son, unlike his two older children.

Neither of the two knew much about the monster, but they heard that if it were to ever be released, it could be the end of Atlas as they knew it.

That was not something that they were looking forward to. They already had to deal with Grimm attacks every so often (though thankfully, Grimm had a hard time attacking the kingdom due to its defensive advantages such as the occasional sandstorms), and they could only imagine what an attack from the monster would be like.

Perhaps it would be best if they tried to keep Gaara calm.

They noticed that the sun was going down.

It sure was a nice sunset.

 _Elsewhere..._

Nora was hitting a dummy that resembled Neji Hyuga to train for her match, while Shikamaru...was simply sleeping.

"Aren't you going to train for the exams?" asked Asuma.

"Haven't I worked hard enough? I made it through the Forest Of Death..." stated Shikamaru.

"You probably would have completed the Forest Of Death faster if you haven't spent your time sleeping..." pointed out the jonin. Granted, they probably wouldn't have been able to beat the Sand Siblings' record, but they could have tried.

"I have to preserve my chakra somehow." noted the shadow ninja. If Shikamaru used his shadow snaring techniques for too long, they started to sap away at his chakra. It would not end well for him if he ran out.

"True, but have you ever thought of being more energetic like your teammates Ino Yamanaka and Nora Valkyrie?" asked Asuma. "They seem pretty enthusiastic about being a ninja."

"I prefer acting like Ren does." answered Shikamaru. He seemed calm and relaxed like he was.

At that very moment, Ren returned from the hospital.

"You OK? Neji beat you up..." stated Shikamaru.

Sparks began to come from Nora's body.

"I think so." nodded Ren. The doctors had done their best.

However, his head felt a little woozy.

"My head...: stated the teenage boy.

Hopefully he would be alright.

"C'mon! Don't tell me you're going to wimp out of the Chunin Exam finals!" exclaimed Ino.

"I won't. I won't. Just let me have a few moments of sleep..." said Shikamaru.

Ino sighed. Some things about Shikamaru never changed.

Personally she was working on her taijutsu skill. She was fairly good at it.

She was also practicing her psychic powers. So far she couldn't lift anything that was too heavy.

Even so, she was getting better at it.

Personally Glynda Goodwitch was her inspiration. She would have enjoyed having her as her jonin instructor but since Asuma Sarutobi was rather decent at being a jonin instructor she decided not to dwell on it.

She decided to continue focusing her powers.

This time, she ended up lifting a watermelon.

"That's a new one." noted Ino.

 _Elsewhere..._

"I have to admit, I'm surprised that we managed to make it to the finals despite how poorly we did at Signal Academy..." noted Jaune. Blake and Kiba had gotten much better test scores...and yet, they had still lost to Naruto and Ruby. Of course, in Ruby's case, Zwei had stepped in to help her fight Akamaru.

"Yeah...then again, maybe we just needed to believe in ourselves first." nodded Hinata. They both had large amounts of chakra, according to Ozpin. That had quickly become apparent in her case when she began to fight back against Cardin.

Perhaps if she continued training, she could unlock her large chakra reserves. Maybe her father would be proud of her. Granted, he did explain why he kept applying pressure to make Hinata feel stronger.

Still, she felt like she was doing well training her taijutsu skills.

"By the way, I've had a lot of people looking my way lately." noted Hinata.

"Really?" asked Jaune.

"Mm-hmm. It's making me feel a bit uncomfortable." answered the kunoichi.

"You don't suppose it's because you beat Cardin, did you?" inquired the blonde.

"Now that you think of it, it's probably it." stated Hinata.

That had been rather impressive on her fight. Everyone thought that Cardin would make it to the finals, but Hinata had proven them wrong.

Speaking of Cardin, she heard that he had changed his ways. He didn't seem to be bullying anyone, even the Faunus such as Velvet.

Of course, maybe he finally realized that she since she was a chunin and he was only a genin, bullying her wasn't such a good idea. Bullying Jaune in front of Hinata had been a big mistake in the end, after all.

She was glad that he was finding redemption.

Suddenly, Blake approached them.

"What are you up to, Blake?" asked Hinata.

"Well, I was hoping that I could spy on the White Fang..." stated Blake.

"You were?" inquired Jaune.

"Yeah. I think they might be up to something." said the cat girl.

"Do you need help?" asked the blonde.

"I would appreciate it if you did come with me...you'll need to put on disguises though. That way people won't suspect you're not part of the White Fang." said Blake.

Jaune and Hinata nodded.

"I already talked to Kiba. He and Akamaru agreed to accompany me on the mission." said Blake.

Sure enough, Kiba and Akamaru leapt onto the scene.

"You ready to go?" asked Kiba.

Jaune and Hinata nodded.

"Good. I know where we can get some White Fang disguises so that we can get in undetected." stated Blake.

"Good idea." nodded Jaune.

 _Elsewhere..._

Rock Lee was sparring with Might Guy. His tajutsu skills were improving.

"Good job!" exclaimed Might Guy.

Not only that, but he could now create a whirlwind by spinning around.

However, he still wasn't used to using genjutsu.

Well, maybe that wasn't his style.

'You think I can beat Gaara?" asked Rock Lee.

"Well, he is a challenging opponent...I say you should just do the best you can. After all, just because you lose a fight in the chunin exam finals doesn't mean you'll be disqualified from becoming chunin." noted Might Guy.

"You have a good point, Guy Sensei!" exclaimed the teenage boy, saluting Might Guy with respect.

"That's my boy!" shouted Might Guy.

Since Sakura hadn't passed the chunin exam preliminaries, she wasn't training as much as Rock Lee was.

Still, she was hitting a dummy as hard as she could..which was pretty hard indeed.

Maybe she would do better the next time she took the exam.

Would she take the exam again along with her teammates though? They had already become chunin.

 _I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I figure that since Weiss Schnee has a bad father figure in canon why not give her a good father figure in this fanfic?_

 _Besides, I figured this would be a good reference to the fairy tale Princess And The Frog. Of course, instead of frogs we have toads. I guess it's close enough._

 _As before, I chose the matchups based primarily on their abilities. However, on some occasions I chose to match them based no personality similarities or differences...this is how Ruby got paired up with Kiba and Hinata got paired up with Cardin._

 _In the next chapter, Team JHAK are going on a sneaking mission. We'll also see a return of Roman Torchwick...however, he is not alone this time._


	23. Chapter 23: Espionage

_In this chapter, Team JHAK is going on an espionage mission. However, they're going to get caught...and Roman is going to face them in a mech!_

 _Let's hope that they can get out of this one. I'd like to think that they will._

 _Still, how are they going to take down a robot that big? Granted, it's probably not as strong as Penny since she can stop a truck with her bare hands, but still._

 **Chapter 23: Espionage**

After donning White Fang uniforms that Blake had generously provided, the four of them decided to infiltrate the White Fang.

Apparently, they were having a meeting.

Knowing Adam Taurus, it was probable that they were up to something bad.

Since part of the reason Team JHAK was formed was so that they could gather information, it seemed like they were up to the task.

Besides, Blake was once a member of the White Fang, so it seemed appropriate for her to take this mission.

Carefully, they made their way towards where the meeting was going to be held.

Sure enough, Adam Taurus was there at the scene, along with Roman Torchwick.

Also present was his partner Neo. She was wielding her pink umbrella as usual.

Again, Blake wondered why Roman was working with the Faunus that he hated.

"Greetings, my fellow White Fang members. As you may be aware of, I have chosen to partner myself with a human." stated Adam Taurus.

"But I hate humans!" exclaimed one of the White Fang members. Since when were humans allowed in their ranks?

"Yes, yes. I know that the White Fang and humans are enemies. However, this man happens to share the same hostility towards the authorities that most of you possess." pointed out Adam Taurus.

"Will we teach the humans to fear us?" asked another member of the White Fang.

"I think it would be more preferable if we could control them." noted the swordsman.

The White Fang scratched their heads in confusion.

That wasn't what Sienna Khan had in mind. She simply wanted people to fear the faunus so that they would stop oppressing them.

"Thanks to Roman, we now have something that we can use to make sure that the humans know their place." stated Adam.

The more Jaune overheard what was happening during the meeting, the more he felt worried.

"I think we should probably get out of here before we're spotted." noted Jaune.

Hinata nodded. Something told her that their disguises weren't going to fool everyone.

Blake decided that perhaps they had heard enough.

Kiba and Akamaru nodded as well.

Together, they began to leave the building.

However, just as they were about to exit, Roman suddenly noticed them.

"Hey! I know you!" exclaimed Roman.

"Huh?" asked Jaune.

"You know these four?" inquired Adam.

"Just the blonde one...you thought that mask was going to fool me! You're the one who thwarted my dust robbery!" exclaimed Roman.

He had also interfered when he attempted to smuggle dust to the White Fang, along with his friends.

Jaune's blood ran cold.

"No matter. To be honest, part of me was hoping you would show up. I was hoping to use THIS!" exclaimed the top-hat wearing criminal.

Roman removed the White Fang tapestry in the room, revealing a robot.

"This is bad." said Hinata.

"You're going to deal with them personally?" asked Adam.

"Why not? I've got a score to settle with one of them." answered Roman.

"Very well." answered the swordsman. He had a grudge to settle with a kunoichi himself.

Roman stepped into the robot.

"Run!" exclaimed Jaune.

Frantically, Jaune, Hinata, Kiba, and Blake ran away from the robot.

Curious, Adam noticed that one of the imposter White Fang members looked familiar.

However, he wasn't quite sure who it was.

The robot began to pursue them.

"It's payback time!" exclaimed Roman.

 _Meanwhile..._

Under Jiraiya's guidance, Weiss was practicing her swordplay skills.

She was getting pretty good at it.

Of course, not all of her opponents were going to challenge her to a sword fight, but it was still useful to be proficient with a blade nevertheless.

Besides, it would make her sister Winter proud. Unfortunately, Jacques Schnee, being the controlling father he was, decided not to let her train with Winter.

Apparently, Jacques thought that Winter was a bad seed. Personally she thought that she was a good seed if her ancestors were like Jacques. Then again, perhaps they were not.

"You know, if you bring me a pretty girl, I could teach you how to summon toads..." stated Jiraiya.

"Oh?" asked Weiss.

"You're not creeped out by toads, are you?" inquired the Sannin.

"Well, it's not something that I would admit to other girls...but I find amphibians to be cute." answered the white-haired girl.

"Really?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yep. I guess I'm a bit of a crazy girl like that...I'm still probably saner than Ruby though." stated Weiss. She had to admit, Ruby was pretty smart, but sometimes she seemed immature.

"Alright then. Just bring me a pretty lady and I'll teach you how to summon toads." ordered the Sannin.

"Where am I going to find a pretty l-"

Suddenly, at that very moment, Winter approached the two of them.

"Winter?" asked Weiss.

"I heard that Jacques was going to put Whitley in charge of your training, so I figured I would come in and make sure you're prepared for the Chunin Exam Finals." stated Winter.

Weiss smiled.

"Now then, let's start with your swordspl-"

Suddenly, Winter noticed that the man who was with Weiss was staring at her.

"Huh?" asked Winter.

"Hey there, beautiful! You are looking fabulous!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"Excuse me?" inquired the white-haired girl.

"Do you believe in love at first night?" inquired the Sannin.

"Well..." answered Winter.

"Come on! Let's go have dinner and watch a movie!" exclaimed the toad sage.

Winter began to back away.

"Don't tell me you're leaving!" shouted Jiraiya.

"I think...we might have to postpone our training..." said Winter.

Winter began to run away.

"Get back here pretty lady!" exclaimed the Sannin.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

 _Meanwhile on the street..._

Team JHAK ran away from the robot, which was opening fire on them with a machine gun mounted on its arm.

"How do I keep getting into these messes?" thought Jaune.

"You're going to be a bloody mess when I'm through with you, blonde!" exclaimed Roman.

Jaune gulped.

"How do we stop it?" asked Hinata.

"I think we're going to have to work together..." answered Kiba.

Akamaru nodded.

"Well, that IS what we do best." stated Jaune.

Roman got ready to launch another round of machine gun bullets at the four.

However, this time, Jaune blocked the bullets with his shield.

He then slashed the robot in its machine gun arm.

"Hey! Don't scratch my robot!" exclaimed Roman.

"It seems kind of tempting to me..." answered Jaune.

"Let's see if we can follow that, shall we?" asked Kiba.

Akamaru nodded.

Together, they hit the robot with Fang Passing Fang.

The robot was knocked to the ground.

"Ugh! Now I know why Cruella De Vil wanted to make a coat out of 101 dalmatians!" exclaimed Roman.

The robot got back up and launched a rocket at them.

Frantically, the four of them leapt out of the way.

It was a big boom, so it was fortunate that they did.

In retaliation, Hinata began to punch and kick the robot.

Dents began to appear on it.

"You must be awful strong if you can punch through metal..." stated Jaune.

"Yeah...I think that might be how I beat Cardin." answered Hinata. He did typically wear that suit of armor.

"You four are making me angry!" exclaimed Roman.

"We sure are pushing his buttons, aren't we?" asked Hinata.

"Speaking of buttons, I wonder if there's a self-destruct button on that thing." answered Jaune.

"There's not! Why would someone design a robot like that if it could get blown up that easily?" inquired Roman.

"Good point." stated the blonde. That would be stupid...unless of course, you wanted to prevent the robot from falling into the wrong hands.

Roman Torchwick pressed another robot on the paladin, and its left arm turned into a chainsaw.

"I'm going to cut you down just like a tree!" exclaimed Roman.

Immediately, Roman lunged towards the four with his chainsaw.

Hinata got hit.

"Aah!" exclaimed Hinata.

"Hinata!" bellowed Jaune.

Fortunately, Hinata was OK, though she did lose some of her chakra.

The robot lunged for another swing...

...but Blake tripped it using her Gambol Shroud.

"What the-" exclaimed Roman.

She then began slashing the robot with its scythe.

A "Caution" screen appeared on the robot's screen.

"That's not good..." stated Roman.

The robot got back up and got ready to fire lasers.

Kiba was hit.

"Aah!" exclaimed Kiba.

Akamaru checked to see if Kiba was OK.

He did end up losing some of his chakra, much like Hinata did before.

However, Kiba would be OK.

Unfortunately, the robot then proceeded to kick Jaune to the ground.

"Get ready to be fried, blonde!" exclaimed Roman.

"Uh-oh..." said Jaune.

However, at that very moment, Hinata stepped in...and she set up a protective force field.

The protective force field ended up deflecting the lasers.

"What?" asked Roman.

The robot was hit dead-on.

Roman received a warning message on the computer screen.

"These four are better than I thought." noted Roman. The robot had taken significant damage at this point.

"How did you do that?" asked Jaune.

"I think it's my semblance." answered Hinata. She discovered it during a training session with her father. Apparently, he wanted to make sure she was ready for the Chunin Exam finals.

Then again, she was already roughly equal to her opponent.

This time, Roman decided to wield a flamethrower.

"It's time to make some barbecue!" exclaimed Roman.

"That's not good." noted Kiba.

He swung the flamethrower around, hoping to burn the four of them.

Blake ended up being singed.

"Ouch!" exclaimed Blake.

It was times like this when she wished that she was more durable, much like Yang Xiao Long. That would have been an interesting matchup at the preliminaries.

Speaking of which, it looked as if Yang was going to become chunin herself.

In retaliation, she summoned some clones.

Together, they began to attack the robot.

This time, Roman received a DANGER message on the computer screen.

"I thought this robot was state-of-the-art!" exclaimed Roman.

Since the robot had been heavily damaged, Jaune decided to perform the final blow.

The Atlesian Paladin was blown to bits.

Jaune sighed in relief. That was one mighty robot. Still, together with his team, they had prevailed.

Roman Torchwick came out of the wreckage of the robot, badly burned but still alive.

He let out a cough.

"It looks like Roman's still alive even though he was inside the robot when it exploded..." noted Kiba.

"That's really impressive..." acknowledged Blake.

"Well, I guess we should send him to the proper authorities...of course, they'll probably send him to the hospital BEFORE they take him to jail." advised Hinata.

"Yeah...you think anyone will show up to rescue him at the last minute though? Sometimes that happens just when you're about to bring a criminal to justice..." noted Jaune.

They decided to wait a moment to see if anyone showed up.

Nobody did.

"Huh. I guess nobody's showing up to save him. Let's send him to jail, shall w-"

Suddenly, Akamaru began to sniff the air.

"What is it?" asked Kiba.

Apparently, someone with lots of chakra was approaching.

And to make matters worse, it didn't seem like they were friendly.

"That's not good..." stated Hinata.

At that very moment, Neo arrived on the scene.

"You couldn't have...arrived soon enough." noted Roman.

Neo smiled and bowed to the four of them.

"Get me...out of here." murmured the man.

With that, Roman passed out.

Neo quickly escaped with the unconscious Roman on a bulkhead.

"I guess we won't be getting Roman arrested today..." noted Jaune.

"Shame...arresting a criminal mastermind like that would do Vale a lot of favors." acknowledged Hinata.

"Still, at least we blew up his robot...that ought to put a hamper in his plans, right?" asked Kiba.

Blake nodded. However, she got the feeling that Roman might have more robots somewhere.

However, there was one question that she was asking herself.

Where exactly did Roman get his hands on such a robot?

 _A short while later..._

"I have to admit, Atlas sure has surprisingly good health care..." stated Roman. Already, he was starting to recover.

Even so, it would be a while before he could resume his criminal activities. He cursed that blonde along with his friends.

If Neo hadn't saved him when she did, he might be behind bars right about now.

"Are you sure we should be working with a criminal mastermind?" asked James Ironwood.

"Lord Orochimaru states that he has no intention of destroying Atlas. He just wants to destroy Vale." answered Adam.

"If you say so." said General Ironwood. It was a pity they had to destroy Vale, but apparently it was either them or Atlas. They were losing too many missions to them.

Still, he had to worry about loaning Atlas technology to someone like Roman. He had established quite a criminal record. Multiple cities had sworn out warrants for his arrest.

He decided to contact the Fourth Kazekage on his scroll.

"Yes, what is it?" asked the fourth.

"Are you sure we should be working with Orochimaru? I've heard stories about him and they're quite disturbing. He's a highly dangerous criminal..even more dangerous than the criminal mastermind that he hired." warned the general.

"He wants Vale destroyed like I do, doesn't he?" inquired the Kazekage.

"Yes, but I have to question where his loyalties lie." answered Ironwood.

"Well, they're not with his kingdom, that's for certain!" exclaimed Rasa.

"I'm also worried about your son, Gaara. He has shown himself to be mentally unstable. I'm worried that he may turn on us." noted the general.

"If anything happens, I'll send him back home." answered Rasa.

"If you say so." nodded the general.

General Ironwood hung up on the Fourth Kazekage.

Personally he was surprised that four genin could destroy one of his prized mechs.

Then again, two of them had apparently passed the chunin exams preliminaries.

Perhaps he needed to build stronger robots. At least he had an army of them for when the Konoha Crush came around.

He thought using robots was preferable to using humans for wars...you could always rebuild a robot if it was destroyed.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Are you looking forward to the Chunin Exam finals?" asked Naruto.

Ruby nodded.

"I think it'll be fun fighting you in the arena..." stated the blonde genin.

"Well, you already know my abilities since you're my teammate." answered the brunette genin.

"True, but you also know mine." stated Naruto.

"That's true." nodded Ruby.

Kakashi suggested that she worked on fighting her opponents bare-handed.

That wasn't something she used to.

However, given that she had super speed, it was likely that she had powerful legs.

Perhaps she should try using those in a fight.

Naruto was working on drawing power from the nine-tailed fox. He thought he was getting the hang of it.

Likewise, Ruby was working on her silver eye power. However, the most she had done with them was scorch some Beowulves.

Maybe they worked best when she was under stress.

 _Elsewhere..._

"Well, since you brought me a pretty girl, I'll teach you how to summon toads!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"You might want to tone down the flirting. I don't want my sister to slap you with a restraining order." stated Weiss.

"I'll be fine! The ladies find me irresistible! She'll come around eventually." answered the Sannin.

"Alright, but if anything happens don't say I didn't warn you." said the ice-haired girl.

Jiraiya instructed Weiss to press her hand on the ground.

Weiss nodded, and a few drops of her blood were spilled on the floor.

She ended up summoning a toad.

"Ribbit!" exclaimed the toad she summoned.

"I did it." said Weiss.

"Good job, but remember, you'll want to keep practicing if you wish to summon bigger toads." stated Jiraiya.

Weiss nodded and kept summoning toads.

They did start getting bigger.

Even so, Weiss wondered if she would make any serious progress by the time the Chunin Exam finals began.

Suddenly, Whitley showed up.

"Whitley?" asked Weiss.

He now had a black eye from when Jiraiya beat him up.

"You got lucky last time, old man! This time I'll win for sure!" exclaimed Whitley.

"Leave him alone, Whitley. He's busy!" shouted Weiss.

"Why are you defending him? He's nothing more than an idiot who wastes his time with girls!" shouted the white-haired boy.

"Enough!" exclaimed the swordslady.

Suddenly, she summoned a Boarbatusk.

Whitley panicked and ran away.

Realizing what she had done, she quickly dismissed the boar summon.

"Interesting..." stated Jiraiya.

"Huh?" asked Weiss.

"It seems that your chakra works best when you're feeling stressed..." noted the Sannin.

"Oh?" inquired the white-haired girl.

"Try thinking of something that stresses you out..." suggested Jiraiya.

Weiss began to flash back to one of the times her father made her mad.

" _Can I play outside with those kids?" asked Weiss._

 _Outside her window were three kids playing with each other._

 _"And fraternize_ _with vulgar commoners? Never!" exclaimed Jacques._

 _Weiss_ _pouted_.

After taking Jiraiya's advice to heart, Weiss tried summoning another toad.

This time, she ended up summoning an enormous toad.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Weiss.

Incidentally, it was Jiraiya's signature summon, Gamabunta.

"I guess you were right." answered the white-haired girl.

"Huh? Who summoned me? Was it you, Jiraiya?" asked Gamabunta.

"Actually, it was my trainee, Weiss." explained Jiraiya.

Gamabunta looked at Weiss.

"So...will he do what I tell him to do?" asked the swordslady.

"If it were a small toad, they would normally comply to your commands. But in the case of a toad of this size, you'll have to earn their respect first." explained Jiraiya.

"Alright. Mr. Toad. Anything I can do to earn your respect?" asked Weiss. She could be mean sometimes but she decided that since this toad was probably an elder she should treat him nicely.

Besides, she wanted to have her own loyal toad summon like Jiraiya did.

"Well...I'd like to see how long you can stay on my back..." answered Gamabunta. He was curious to see how well Jiraiya had trained his trainee.

"OK." nodded Weiss.

Weiss hopped on top of Gamabunta's back.

Shortly afterward, Gamabunta began to shake back and forth.

"Wha-" said Weiss.

Fortunately, she didn't lose her balance.

"Not bad. Let's speed things up, shall we?" asked the giant toad.

Gamabunta began to shake faster.

Weiss felt sick to her stomach.

"There's got to be a way I can slow him down..." thought the girl.

She then remembered something.

Weren't toads cold-blooded?

If so, she had a feeling she could use that to her advantage.

Using her chakra, she placed ice cubes on Gamabunta's back.

Gamabunta began to feel cold.

"What's going on? I felt warm just a second ago..." thought the giant toad.

Gamabunta began to slow down.

Since her plan seemed to be working, Weiss placed more ice cubes on Gamabunta's backside.

The giant toad began to feel sleepy.

"Why am I feeling tired?" asked Gamabunta.

Weiss then summoned an enormous ice cube.

The giant toad yawned and fell asleep.

"I wish I thought of that when he tested me..." noted Jiraiya. He spent his time on Gamabunta's back feeling like he was going to vomit.

"Well, you probably don't have access to ice release techniques..." pointed out Weiss.

"True..." nodded the toad sage. He preferred fire and oil techniques.

Weiss woke up Gamabunta.

"Huh? What happened?" asked the giant toad.

"Since you were cold-blooded, I figured I would use ice release techniques to make you fall asleep..." answered Weiss.

"You're a smart girl, you know that?" inquired Gamabunta.

"Thanks. So, can I use you in battle now?" asked the white-haired girl.

"We'll see." answered the giant toad.

Gamabunta disappeared.

"So, anything else you wish to teach me?" asked Weiss.

Suddenly, she noticed that Jiraiya had disappeared.

She had a feeling where he might have gone.

"I guess I'm going to have to look for him." noted the white-haired girl.

 _Since people theorized that Jaune's semblance was reflection, I decided to give this ability to Hinata, since the two are similar. Jaune's semblance is defensive though, so they were close._

 _As for Jaune's semblance...why don't you take a look at Volume 5?_

 _You probably noticed that I didn't have Jiraiya push Weiss off a cliff like he did Naruto...that seemed kind of cruel if you asked me. Besides, Weiss could simply summon glyphs to climb back up._

 _So long for now!_


	24. Chapter 24: Mutated Grimm

_In this chapter, there's going to be a mutated Beowulf. Gulp. Who could have possibly mutated that Beowulf?_

 _Unfortunately, Team NRSY isn't aware of the mutated Beowulf's presence. The four of them are being sent to escort Konohamaru on his first mission. And yes, he's a genin in this fanfic._

 **Chapter 24: Mutated Grimm**

Naruto looked through the mission board to see if there was anything interesting.

Apparently, there was a mission to escort a new genin on a Grimm slaying mission.

"Interesting..." stated Naruto.

His name happened to be Konohamaru. He was the grandson of the Third Hokage.

"He's the grandson of the Third Hokage?" asked the genin boy.

He doublechecked the mission briefing to see if he had read that correctly.

It turned out, he had read it correctly.

That was interesting.

Well, it seemed as good of a mission as any. It would be a good idea to practice their skills before the Chunin Exam finals. No doubt the judges would be impressed with them if they managed to make it far.

Of course, Sasuke was going to be watching the finals instead of participating in them, but since he wanted to become stronger so that he could kill his brother, he would probably volunteer for the mission anyway.

Apparently, the mission was to take place at the Cliffside Forest, which was known for containing Beowulves. Some of them traveled in packs since strength came in numbers. Naruto was aware of that since he liked to use shadow clones.

"Alright then..." said Naruto.

Naruto decided to ask Ruby to accompany him on the mission first. She was a good friend of his. Too bad the Chunin Exam finals could only have one winner.

"We're going to Cliffside Forest?" asked Ruby.

Naruto nodded.

Ruby let out a sigh.

"Huh?" asked the blonde genin. Was something the matter? Personally he didn't think the Cliffside Forest seemed like a a depressing place though sometimes there were Grimm in the area.

"That's where my mother's tombstone is..." answered the teenage girl. She could have sworn that she had seen her ghost during the Volume 1 opening, though she wondered if her silver eyes had been playing tricks on her.

"Really?" asked the blonde genin.

"Yeah..." stated Ruby.

A tear exited Naruto's eye.

"We can go there if you want, I just wanted to let you know." answered the girl.

"Mm-hmm." nodded Naruto.

Naruto decided to ask Yang and Sasuke if they would accompany him on the mission.

"Sure!" exclaimed Yang.

"Whatever." answered Sasuke.

Immediately, the four of them went to see Konohamaru.

"Hi! Are you going to accompany me into the Cliffside Forest? I'm looking forward to killing Grimm!" exclaimed Konohamaru.

"Mm-hmm. Just be careful not to get carried away. That would play right into the Grimm's paws..." noted Ruby. Sometimes she had to question whether hunting Grimm for sport was a good idea.

Konohamaru nodded. Personally he thought since he was the grandson of the Third Hokage he could handle anything...but now that he thought of it, maybe Ruby had a point.

They ventured into the Cliffside Forest.

Sure enough, there were Beowulves in the area. One of them was searching for humans to munch on.

It sniffed the air to see if there was any sign of a human.

It looked as if this one was a lone Beowulf.

Not a smart idea, especially considering that hunters liked to travel in teams these days.

Konohamaru pulled out a kunai and lunged towards the Beowulf.

The wolf Grimm was caught by surprise.

He then proceeded to stab the Beowulf...repeatedly.

The Beowulf burst into darkness.

"Yeah! I did it!" exclaimed Konohamaru.

It felt pretty satisfying successfully killing his first Grimm, even it was one of the weakest ones. That Beowulf had been pretty young.

However, two of the Beowulves heard Konohamaru and began to approach him.

They didn't seem to happy that he had slain their comrade.

It seemed that it would be best if Konohamaru didn't make too much noise.

One of the Beowulves licked its lips.

"Uh-oh..." said the boy.

"Be careful!" exclaimed Naruto.

"What should I do?" asked Konohamaru.

"Try making a shadow clone." suggested the boy. He always did like strength in numbers...perhaps Konohamaru could fight the Grimm the same way.

Konohamaru nodded and created a copy of himself.

"I did it!" exclaimed Konohamaru.

He then began to attack the Beowulf duo along with the clone.

Both of the Beowulves burst into darkness.

"Yes!" shouted the boy.

Suddenly, an entire pack of Beowulves began to approach them.

One of them snapped their jaws at the five.

"Wait a minute...this isn't normal..." noted Ruby. Usually she didn't get attacked by this many Grimm at once whenever she was here, allowing her to pay her respects to her late mother.

Quickly, Yang began to set them on fire.

The Beowulves screeched and began to disappear into darkness. Fortunately, it seemed that they weren't old enough to develop a resistance to fire.

Ruby received a message from her scroll.

"Huh?" asked the teenage girl.

It was from her sensei.

"I'm afraid we have some bad news, Ruby. A strange Beowulf has been spotted in the Cliffside Forest." explained Kakashi.

"What?" inquired Ruby.

"It has green claws and green spikes...and is capable of regenerating itself. It's also much stronger than that of a normal Beowulf...though not as strong as an Alpha Beowulf." said the jonin.

"What?!" exclaimed the brunette girl.

"What's the matter?" asked Naruto.

"There's some sort of mutant Grimm in this forest. Kakashi says that it's much stronger than an ordinary Beowulf." spoke Ruby.

It was probably tougher than any of the Grimm that they had faced so far.

"There is?" inquired the jinchuriki.

"That might explain the abnormal amounts of Grimm..." answered Sasuke. Perhaps they were trying to keep the mutated Grimm safe.

Suddenly, they began to hear screeching.

"What now?" asked Konohamaru.

As it turned out, they were being attacked by the bat Grimm known as Myotis. Luckily, these Grimm were young and were therefore rather small, so they weren't much of a threat.

"Oh no...now we're being attacked by bloodsucking fiends...' stated Naruto.

Yes, these Grimm liked to exsanguinate victims by biting into their necks. Their blood were simply delectable.

Fortunately, they weren't strong at all as individuals. However, they liked to band together in packs. They also liked to attack at night when they wouldn't be as easily noticed. Older Myotis had the ability to use echolocation to locate potential victims.

The Myotis began to fly towards them.

Ruby transformed her scythe into a gun so that she could better fight the bat Grimm.

"I don't remember seeing them in this forest before..." stated Ruby. Also, didn't they typically come out at night? Right now it was bright and sunny.

"Maybe if we slay that mutated Grimm things will go back to normal." noted Naruto.

"I hope." answered Sasuke. There were people that wanted to pass through the Cliffside Forest...they couldn't do it if they kept being attacked by Grimm. They could end up being killed, which would delight the Grimm and would bring more into the area.

A Nekomata entered the area as well.

Though Grimm normally traveled in packs of other members of their species, they were willing to work with other species if the opportunity arose. For example, older Beowulves may side with the Ursa to compensate for their relative lack of strength compared to the Ursa species. Likewise, an older Ursa might do the same to compensate for their relative lack of speed compared to the Beowulves.

The Nekomata clawed Naruto in the face.

"Ow!" exclaimed Naruto.

Fortunately, it turned out that was a clone, so the real Naruto wasn't hurt.

"We might want to get Konohamaru out of here..." noted Ruby. Something told her that there might be too many Grimm for him to handle.

"Why?" asked Konohamaru, striking down a Myotis by stepping on it with his foot.

"You might be in over your head..." answered Naruto.

"But I wanted to fight the Grimm!" exclaimed the Sarutobi genin. Were they going to have to cut this mission short?

"I have to admit, you became a genin at an early age." noted Yang. She didn't become genin until she was thirteen. In contrast, Ruby became genin when she was eleven. She was very talented.

"I sure did!" shouted Konohamaru. He made his grandfather and his uncle very proud.

Personally he wished that he could have been on the same team as the latter. But it seemed that he had chosen a slacker, a loudmouth, an energetic girl, and a taijutsu specialist instead of him.

He wondered why.

Suddenly, they began to hear the screech of a bird.

But it wasn't just any bird.

"It's a Nevermore!" exclaimed Yang.

Fortunately, this Nevermore was not a big one, since apparently it was fairly young.

However, she got the feeling that she didn't want to be hit by its feathers. They were sharp as razors.

"I guess it's time to start bird hunting..." noted Sasuke.

 _Now for something a bit more light-hearted..._

Weiss woke up from her nap. It was time for another training session with Jiraiya.

However, she noticed that Jiraiya wasn't with her.

"Huh?" asked Weiss.

She decided to look around for him.

Where could Jiraiya have possibly gone?

She wanted to know.

"Where is he?" asked Weiss.

Suddenly, she had a feeling where Jiraiya had gone.

"Typical." thought the white-haired girl.

Sure enough, she found Jiraiya spying on girls in bikinis.

"Dang these girls are sexy..." thought Jiraiya.

He was going to have to include characters based on them in one of his novels.

Weiss grabbed Jiraiya's arm.

"Whoa!" shouted Jiraiya.

"Uh-uh. You said you were going to train with me today. Did you forget that?" asked Weiss.

"Can't I spy on some pretty girls first?" asked the Sannin.

"Is that all you think about? Pretty girls?" inquired the teenage girl.

"But they're hot!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"And I'm cold...and I want to practice my powers over it." answered Weiss.

Jiraiya sighed.

"Fine. But can we make this quick?" asked the toad sage.

"Whatever." answered Weiss. If it made the old man happy, it would make her happy too, she supposed.

Other than him being lecherous, he was a nice guy.

"Yes!" cheered Jiraiya.

Weiss sat down.

"Alright...I noticed that when you got mad at your annoying younger brother you summoned a Grimm...however, this one was white instead of black." said the toad Sannin.

"Yeah...I happen to be proficient in summoning jutsu...however, I typically only summon small ones so I don't run out of chakra." stated Weiss. Using up too much chakra could be dangerous.

"Why don't we work on that?" questioned Jiraiya.

Weiss nodded. She started summoning Beowulves with her powers.

"You don't suppose you could use them to spy on Grimm, would you?" asked the toad sage.

"I actually haven't thought of that." answered Weiss.

She instructed the white Beowulves to look around.

As it turned out, there were minimal amounts of Grimm in the area.

That was a relief. She didn't want anything interrupting her training.

Apparently, the younger Grimm couldn't tell the difference.

However, she got the feeling that might not be the case with older Grimm.

"I slew a Geist once..." said Weiss. Those Grimm had a habit of possessing whatever was around them.

In this case, it possessed a suit of armor.

Perhaps she could try summoning that.

Weiss pressed her hand on the ground, and she ended up summoning a sword.

However, she didn't end up summoning the whole thing.

"I guess I'll work on it." stated Weiss.

Jiraiya nodded.

Still, she got the feeling that she was getting better at summoning things.

Maybe she'd be able to summon Gamabunta again someday.

 _Back at the Cliffside Forest..._

After slaying more Grimm, Team NRSY decided maybe it was time to leave. Ruby had successfully shot down the Nevermore and it had burst into darkness.

They weren't sure if they could fight against the Mutated Grimm, though admittedly they had done a good job cutting down the Grimm population in the forest. There were some Grimm that could hold their own against an entire team of ninja.

However, as they started to leave, they began to hear a Beowulf howling. But it didn't sound like the howling of an ordinary Beowulf. It was much deeper-pitched.

"What was that?" asked Konohamaru.

Suddenly, the mutated Beowulf leapt out of the bushes.

Konohamaru gasped.

He attempted to run.

However, he ended up twisting his ankle.

"Aah! My ankle!" exclaimed Konohamaru.

Sasuke facepalmed.

Well, perhaps it was better to go down fighting than to leave somebody to die.

Besides, Konohamaru was rather young. A tad younger than Ruby and Naruto, in fact.

Team NRSY got ready to fight.

Sasuke attacked first, bombarding the mutated Grimm with fire.

Burn marks appeared on the mutant Beowulf.

However, the burn marks gradually began to disappear.

"Kakashi wasn't kidding when he said that it had the power to heal itself..." noted Ruby.

Naruto wondered if there were any other strange powers this Grimm possessed.

Suddenly, the Beowulf began to extend its claws.

"Uh-Oh." said Naruto.

It began to claw at Ruby. Perhaps it knew that she had a habit of killing Beowulves and wished to avenge its fallen comrades.

"Aah!" exclaimed Ruby. Not only was this Grimm stronger than a normal Beowulf, it was faster as well.

Konohamaru threw rocks at the mutant Beowulf.

However, this only seemed to irritate it.

It began to glare at him.

Konohamaru shivered with fear.

This fear unfortunately attracted Black Widows.

"You think insecticide works on them?" asked Ruby.

"It would probably work on Shino but I think they're actually different creatures from insects despite the resemblance." answered Sasuke.

Even so, it seemed that their webbing could be burned away with fire.

Sasuke summoned a fireball and it began to burn through them.

However, the mutant Beowulf saw Sasuke as a threat and charged towards him.

But of course, Yang wouldn't have that.

Yang punched the Beowulf as hard as she could.

The mutant Beowulf crashed into a tree.

She ended up punching out two of its fangs.

"Gotcha!" exclaimed Yang.

The Beowulf retaliated by grabbing the tree that it had been slammed into.

"Huh?" asked the girl.

It then tossed the tree at Yang and Sasuke.

Yang and Sasuke were both hit.

"Aah!" exclaimed Yang.

"That is some pretty impressive lifting." noted Naruto.

"I'm scared..." said Konohamaru.

"Try not to panic...that's what the Grimm love." warned Ruby.

Konohamaru nodded.

Fortunately, though he wasn't as good at it as Sasuke and Yang were, he happened to be skilled at fire release techniques.

He decided to launch fireballs at the mutant Beowulf.

The mutant Beowulf screeched as the fire burned its fur.

Naruto then punched the Beowulf in the face.

It collapsed on the ground.

Ruby then slashed the mutated Beowulf with her scythe.

It exploded into darkness.

"We did it!" exclaimed Ruby. It might have been tougher than an average Grimm but they still managed to pull it off.

"I wouldn't celebrate if I were you. We don't know who mutated this Grimm." stated Sasuke.

"Yeah...who would do such a thing?" asked Yang.

"Can we go home now? I'm getting tired." said Konohamaru.

Naruto nodded.

Together, the four of them went back home.

However, it turned out they were being secretly monitored.

"Experiment 4009 has been terminated? I might need to make some improvements to my specimens..." noted the person monitoring the action.

Maybe he could experiment with an Ursa next?

 _Meanwhile..._

Shikamaru and Ino were with Nora, who was munching on pancakes.

"So...Nora...when did you first start wielding your hammer?" asked Ino.

"Well, I suppose it all started when Ren and I survived the Grimm attack on Kuroyuri..." stated Nora. To her knowledge, they were the only survivors of the attack.

Of course, she wasn't talking with her mouth full.

"Really?" asked Shikamaru.

Nora nodded.

"There were lots of screaming that day...although for some strange reason it was also one of the Grimm that was screaming." noted Nora.

Why was that Grimm so loud?

 _"I can't believe that this is happening." stated Ren. Who would have thought that the Grimm would attack a village so lively?_

 _Although, they only seemed to show up when the Nucklavee attacked. It seemed that it was determined to snuff out any trace of happiness from the humans that it hunted._

 _As soon as it screamed, Grimm began to arrive in the village._

 _And to make matters worse, it seemed that his parents had been killed by the creature._

 _He started to cry._

 _In the process, he ended up turning himself invisible._

 _Ren wondered what was going on._

 _On the lighter side, it seemed that the Grimm were leaving. They hadn't noticed him._

 _"Has anyone else survived?" asked Ren._

 _Suddenly, he noticed that Nora was hiding underneath a building._

 _"Nora? You're alive!" exclaimed Ren._

 _"Ren, is that you?" asked Nora._

 _Ren nodded._

 _Ren approached Nora._

 _"I'm scared..." stated Nora._

 _"It's alright to be scared. Just remember, the Grimm are leaving, so try not to make noise." answered Ren._

 _Nora nodded._

 _Eventually, the Grimm left the village. They had decided at this point they should look for more humans to devour._

 _Of course, the Nucklavee would be leading them. It was a very capable fighter and they were glad that it was on their side._

 _Ren picked up a wooden hammer._

 _"You can have this." said Ren._

 _Nora smiled._

"So...you started wielding a hammer because Ren gave you a wooden one?" asked Shikamaru.

"I wasn't exactly used to people giving me gifts at the time." answered Nora.

"I see..." nodded Ino.

Now that she thought of it, wasn't Naruto also an orphan?

Perhaps he and Nora would get along.

On the other hand, though both he and Ren were orphans, they seemed to have different personalties. It was weird.

Shikamaru left to take a nap while Ino went to get herself a facial.

Nora sighed happily. Meeting Ren was the best day of her life...even if not long afterwards the Grimm laid waste to their village.

 _Meanwhile..._

"How was your mission?" asked the Third Hokage.

"I made it out OK, but I did twist my ankle." answered Konohamaru.

"I heard that you encountered a mutant Grimm..." stated Ozpin.

"Yeah...what was up with that Grimm?" asked the genin.

"I have to say that I was starting to get worried." answered Hiruzen.

"Don't worry, I made it out in one piece!" exclaimed Konohamaru.

"If we don't investigate the appearance of the mutated Grimm, there might be people who WON'T make it out in one piece." stated Ozpin.

Konohamaru gulped.

"Unfortunately, since the Grimm disappeared upon death, we won't be able to study it. However, it may have something to do with the robots that were previously encountered by teams of genin." noted the man.

Konohamaru nodded.

He wondered what was going on.

For now, he decided that he was going to rest and recover his chakra.

He went back home.

He had to admit, he found it cool that Naruto could summon so many clones. Perhaps he'd be able to summon that many clones someday. He was a Sarutobi after all and they were all known for being very talented.

What a day it had been.

 _Mutated Grimm? This doesn't bode well for Vale, does it? And yes, I'm including original Grimm in this fanfic. I figured since some people found bats to be scary I figured I would include them as Grimm. Grimm are supposed to be scary since fear is what attracts them._

 _Let me know if you have any ideas. Anyways, in case you were wondering why Naruto and his friends have ventured far from Vale...well, the further away from civilization you go, the stronger the Grimm become. And yes, trying to expand a city can aggravate the Grimm._

 _And don't worry, Konohamaru's ankle will be fine. Haha._


	25. Chapter 25: The Hyuga Prodigy

_In this chapter, the Chunin Exam Finals are going to start...but before that we're going to see something scary. You can't expect anything else from Gaara, now can you?_

 _Well, maybe a tragic backstory. I know that Naruto has one. And so does Ruby...though it's not as tragic as Naruto's. Maybe her mother was attacked by the Grimm?_

 _I know that Nora and Ren have one too. Nucklavee, anyone?_

 _And yes, Nora is going to fight Neji. I'm sure you're looking forward to that. I could have made Neji fight Naruto but I figured I wanted to try something more original._

 **Chapter 25: The Hyuga Prodigy**

After preparing for the Chunin Exam finals, it looked as if it was finally time for them to begin. Hopefully the genin's training was going to pay off.

However, before the finals began, there would be some messy deaths.

It would only be a sign of what was to come.

One night while Gaara was on top of a rooftop, Dosu decided he was going to kill him.

Why you may ask? He wanted payback for his humiliation at the Chunin Exams. Perhaps his teammates would also be interested since they had lost their matches as well.

He had been hoping to fight Sasuke and see why Orochimaru wanted him so badly, but it looked like that could wait.

Of course, if he had known that he was the son of the Fourth Kazekage, he might have had second thoughts.

He pulled out a kunai and carefully snuck behind Gaara, trying not to make a sound...even though he was a sound ninja.

However, he then froze in horror when he noticed that for some strange reason. Gaara had an enormous arm made of sand.

Unfortunately, since Gaara was the one-tails jinchuriki, he had the power to do partial transformations...and then so.

Dosu screamed.

"What are you?" asked Dosu.

"Your worst nightmare.' answered Gaara.

Dosu's face turned pale.

Gaara grabbed Dosu with his sand arm.

He then crushed him like a bug, causing blood to drip from his massive palm.

Nearby, the Fourth Kazekage noticed.

He smiled with approval.

"Serves him right for messing with my son...he's the one-tails jinchuriki and my greatest weapon..."

"I was looking for an opportunity to satiate my bloodlust..." remarked Gaara.

 **"Very good, Gaara!"** exclaimed Shukaku.

Meanwhile, Misumi and Yoroi were planning on double-teaming Penny and killing her as well.

They would move onto Ino once they were done with her.

Granted, her father would likely seek revenge on them, which would be the problem since he was the leader of one of Vale's clans...but they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

Perhaps it would be best if they hid the body. Besides, Atlas wouldn't be happy if they killed one of their ninja.

Currently, she was sitting on a bench.

"Time to die!" exclaimed Yoroi.

However, Penny noticed them, and she began to speak in a creepy computer voice.

"Hostility detected. Activating defense systems." said Penny.

Swords came out from Penny's back.

Misumi gasped in shock.

He began to back away from Penny.

"What are you?!" exclaimed Misumi.

They hadn't mentioned anything about this in Kabuto's ninja info cards.

Penny then launched several blades at Misumi.

Misumi was hit by every single one of them in rapid succession.

To make a long story short, he was dead.

"Misumi!" exclaimed Yoroi.

Penny then activated her arm cannon.

She aimed it at Yoroi.

"I've made a big mistake." noted the scientist.

Then again, who would have thought that Penny was a dangerous robot? You couldn't tell that just by looking at her. She looked so cute and innocent.

The blast left behind a smoldering corpse.

Shortly afterward, Penny shook her head.

"What happened?" asked Penny.

Penny walked away, not noticing the bodies that she had created.

 _The next day..._

"Did you hear about what happened to the three genin that were in the Chunin Exams?" asked Jaune. He had read the newspaper and had found some disturbing information. To think that none of them had even been on a mission.

"Yes...it seems that they were found dead." answered Hinata. Unfortunately, they didn't know who the killer were.

She wondered what had happened to them. She wanted to walk down the street without having to worry about a serial killer.

It seemed like something nasty had happened last night.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you're safe. I wouldn't want somebody trying to take your eyes..." said Jaune. Without her eyes, she would be blind. And she wouldn't be good at espionage if she didn't have eyesight.

"Yeah...those eyes are special." nodded Hinata. The Hyuga Clan was famous for a reason.

Of course, something told Hinata that Jaune was fond of those eyes...though he didn't want to steal them.

"You ready to face me in the Chunin Exams?" asked the blonde.

"Yeah, I think it will be fun." answered Hinata with a smile in her face. She was glad that Jaune taught her to believe in herself. Now she was on her way to becoming a chunin.

"I was worried when you were matched up with Cardin, but you managed to take him down in the end..." noted Jaune.

Hinata nodded.

"Speaking of which, I heard that he's been different lately...he's not bullying Velvet anymore for one thing." acknowledged the blonde.

"Really?" asked Hinata.

"I think you knocked some sense into him." noted Jaune.

"I suppose." nodded the kunoichi.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Um, listen, are you sure you should be bullying those you perceive as being inferior to yourself like this? I know it didn't end well when I decided to try bullying your cousin..." noted Cardin. She got so angry that she beat the heck out of him.

"It was your destiny to lose to my cousin. It is NOT my destiny to lose to that girl with a hammer." answered Neji.

Cardin sighed. It was worth a try to try to convince him to change his ways.

"Although, I have to admit, I was surprised at her turnabout." stated the Hyuga prodigy.

"Me too." nodded Cardin.

Was there more to his cousin than he thought?

He wasn't sure.

Still, he bore a grudge since apparently his father had died because of her...her and her father as well as his uncle.

Hopefully he could prove that he was more than just a ninja tool. He may be part of the branch house but he wasn't a slave to anyone.

Sometimes he wished that he didn't have that seal on his forehead.

Hence the reason why he wore a headband to cover it up, so he didn't have to expose it in public.

At least it prevented the Byakugan from entering the wrong hands. It could cause trouble if an enemy ninja got their hands on it. It was pretty valuable and could be a good weapon.

"Good luck at the Chunin Exams then." said Cardin.

"I don't need luck." answered Neji.

Cardin shrugged.

 _A few hours later..._

Nora Valkyrie arrived in the arena along with Neji Hyuga.

"You didn't chicken out? I'm surprised." answered Neji.

"Of course I didn't chicken out! You beat up Rennie!" exclaimed Nora.

"Did he really think he could challenge me?" asked the Hyuga cousin.

Speaking of Ren, he was amongst the audience. However, he was feeling rather woozy.

Sitting next to him were Blake and Kiba.

This time, the person in charge was Iruka Umino.

"You're in charge, Iruka?" asked Naruto.

Iruka nodded.

"That's a pleasant surprise." answered the chunin-in-the-making.

"Good to see you again." said the black-haired chunin.

Nora Valkyrie readied her hammer.

"I have to admit, I'm looking forward to fight Temari." stated Yang. She certainly seemed like a challenging opponent, and she certainly did like a challenge.

"I'm looking forward to watching you lose." answered Temari.

"Try me." stated the blonde.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Kazekage was getting ready to watch the Chunin Exams.

Little did he know, was that Orochimaru was planning to assassinate him as part of his plan.

Orochimaru approached him with a sword behind his back.

However, he wondered if he should assassinate a valuable ally like this.

Granted, it would be helpful to sit next to the Third Hokage during the exams so that he could kidnap and then assassinate him, but if the sand village found out about his death, the White Fang could very well end up with a powerful enemy. And they already had enough enemies as it was.

The Fourth Kazekage noticed him.

"Orochimaru? What are you doing here?" asked the Fourth Kazekage.

"Taking a nature walk?" lied Orochimaru.

"As long as we have Gaara on our side, I think we can handle this." stated Rasa.

"I was going to bring Kimimaro with me, but unfortunately he's feeling ill." answered the snake Sannin.

He wondered what terrible illness was plaguing the bone ninja.

Unfortunately, Kabuto couldn't heal him. It seemed that his clan was beyond even his medical expertise.

It looked as if Kimimaro was a lost cause.

"I conditioned him to be a weapon since his birth." answered Rasa.

"You did?" asked Orochimaru.

"Yes...the plan was working until his uncle and my brother-in-law got in the way...so I decided to send him on a suicide mission." stated the man.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

"Come again?" asked Orochimaru.

Rasa nodded.

"Now that he's dead, there should be nothing stopping him from becoming the weapon I desire..." answered the Fourth Kazekage.

Orochimaru pulled out his sword.

"Well then, I guess I won't have to worry about having a guilty conscience regarding your death. I suppose I should thank you for that." said the snake Sannin.

Rasa's eyes widened in horror.

Perhaps admitting that he saw Gaara as a weapon as well as being responsible for the death of his brother-in-law wasn't such a good idea.

Orochimaru stabbed Rasa in the chest, and then he knew no more.

Kabuto approached Orochimaru.

"Did you take care of Rasa?" asked Kabuto.

Orochimaru nodded. Luckily, it seemed that Rasa's bodyguards actually didn't value his safety too much. Perhaps they weren't too fond of him.

On the other hand, he did seem to love Kankuro and Temari, so at least that was something.

"I'll have Adam Taurus prepare the sacrifices." said Orochimaru.

Kabuto nodded.

"As for you, bring Sasuke to me. I'll have use for his Sharingan." noted the Sannin.

Of course, the Sharingan couldn't copy kekkai genkai, but that was alright. He could collect their DNA and have access to those kekkei genkai anyway.

He had collected quite a few test subjects over the years. Unfortunately, a few of his laboratories had been discovered and the experiment subjects had been freed.

Still, he was learning more and more jutsu per day.

Unbeknownst to the three of them, the Fourth Kazekage's demise had been witnessed by Penny.

In addition, she had a video recorder inside her body. Atlas had included one inside of her so that she could gather information about Konoha. And yes, much like Team Kurenai, she was good at espionage. This was also why she did so well at the exams, though if she had known that cheating was immoral, she probably wouldn't have done it.

As soon as she witnessed the Fourth Kazekage being murdered, her eyes widened.

"Oh no! The Fourth Kazekage has been murdered! That backstabbing snake! I must tell General Ironwood immediately!" exclaimed the robot girl.

Since she had evidence of his demise, she wouldn't have a hard time proving to General Ironwood who the killer was.

Knowing the general, he would probably be at the Chunin Exam finals.

She had to tell him about Orochimaru's betrayal immediately.

Quickly, she flew away.

"Did you hear something?" asked Kabuto.

"I don't think it was a leaf village scout..." answered Adam.

Hopefully Vale wouldn't find out about his plans before he was able to execute them. That would be a problem.

Then again, he had both the Atlas military AND the White Fang at his side.

"Are you both ready?" asked Iruka.

Nora and Neji nodded.

"I'm going to make him taste my hammer!" exclaimed Nora.

"You sure you don't want to taste pancakes?" asked Neji. He happened to know that there was a bakery in Vale.

"Well..." answered the teenage girl. Now that she thought of it, pancakes would be nice.

However, that could wait until after the match.

Nora attacked first. She was eager to have her revenge. Of course, Asuma had encouraged her to take the noble path instead of the ruthless one. She decided that she would choose the former.

However, Neji proved himself to be rather quick.

As soon as Nora swung the hammer, Neji ducked underneath it.

He then kicked Nora away.

Nora then proceeded to summon lightning bolts to attack Neji.

"It's time for you to ride the lightning!" exclaimed Nora.

However, Neji managed to avoid them, leaping away before the lightning struck.

Nora launched grenades at Neji, but Neji spun around and launched the grenades right back at her.

Nora was knocked backwards.

"Aah!" exclaimed Nora.

Ren couldn't help but feel concerned. Was Nora going to lose the fight?

Sitting next to him were Kiba and Blake. They were looking forward to watching Jaune and Hinata duke it out.

It was surprising that even though they had done worse at the ninja academy than they did, they ended up going to the Chunin Exam finals instead of them.

Although...they both had lots of chakra. More than they did in fact.

Perhaps Jaune and Hinata were born luckier than they thought.

He found it admirable that Nora was trying to avenge him (and thankfully wasn't choosing the ruthless path, since that always had negative consequences)

Suddenly, he began to feel rather woozy.

"Ugh..." said Ren.

Ren passed out on the ground.

Blake gasped.

"What happened to him?" asked Kiba.

"I don't know!" exclaimed Blake.

"Is there a medic here?" inquired the teenage boy.

"Can you find a medic?" asked the cat girl.

Akamaru nodded.

"Wait...you wouldn't happen to be able to communicate with animals, would you?" inquired Kiba. Something told him that she could.

"Well, I am a Faunus so it comes with being a member of my race. Granted, you do suffer from racism, but it's not all bad. Besides, I don't feel like an outcast with you around." answered Blake.

Kiba nodded.

Akamaru returned with a medic.

He seemed somehow familiar.

However, they couldn't quite recognize him as he was wearing a cloak.

"You requested my aid?" asked the cloaked man.

Kiba nodded.

He pointed to Ren, who had passed out on the ground.

"It looks as if he fell victim to the Gentle Fist technique..." noted the doctor.

"But I thought the doctors treated him..." questioned Blake.

"Apparently, they did...but this was the work of an experienced Hyuga clan member..." said the man.

"Ah..." answered Kiba.

"But not to worry. I can take care of it." stated the medic.

This man in question turned out to be Kabuto. Though he was working for Orochimaru, he sympathized with Ren due to the fact that he himself was bullied when he was young. It didn't help that he always wore glasses.

Kabuto began to heal Ren.

Within a few minutes, he was alright, though still unconscious.

Of course, Kabuto had been careful not to spend too much chakra, as he wanted to make sure that he still had some for the event. There would be ninja that could resist the sleeping genjutsu, but it would still be effective for reducing casualties regardless.

Besides, two of his teammates had been killed BEFORE the planned invasion had began. He wasn't sure what had killed them, but it didn't seem to be the work of someone who was human.

Akamaru suddenly barked.

"Huh? You recognize him?" asked Kiba.

Not wanting to blow his cover, Kabuto began to cast a sleeping genjutsu.

Kiba and Akamaru suddenly began to feel rather sleepy.

Likewise, Blake began to feel tired as well.

She yawned.

Kiba, Akamaru, and Blake passed out.

"Now then..." said Kabuto.

Elsewhere, Nora was still fighting Neji.

Unfortunately, it seemed like she couldn't hit him.

He was simply too fast.

"You don't think you can actually win, do you?" asked Neji.

"What makes you so sure that you'll win?" inquired Nora.

Neji pointed to his eyes.

"See these? They give me perfect 360 vision...well, almost." admitted Neji.

There was a blind spot on the back of his head, but he wasn't willing to admit that. Only the Hyuga clan were aware of the weak spot.

"Hmm?" asked Nora.

Now that she thought of it, Hinata also had those. Of course, she didn't seem to be in combat as much. She was part of a different team of ninja.

"It can also allow me to see through solid objects. I can even use it to see someone's chakra pathway system." said Neji.

"Whoa..." stated Nora. That was pretty interesting.

"So as you can see, Valkyrie, you're outmatched. It would be wise of you to forfeit the match and stop wasting my time." stated the Hyuga genin.

"Hmm, you're right. Those eyes are pretty impressive." answered the teenage girl.

Neji smirked.

"I guess I'll have to do something about those!" exclaimed Nora.

Nora picked up some sand that was on the arena.

"What are y-"

Nora then flung sand into Neji's eyes.

"Aah! My eyes!" exclaimed Neji, pressing his hands against his eyes.

"Is that allowed?" asked Might Guy.

"Personally I think it's rather clever." answered Asuma.

"Is it just me or is Nora smarter than she looks?" asked Cardin.

Elizabeth nodded.

As Neji quickly attempted to wipe the sand out of his eyes, Nora began to whack Neji with his hammer.

Without his Byakugan, he wasn't able to avoid it. It was simply too fast.

Neji was sent flying into a wall.

Nora then launched more lightning bolts at Neji.

Neji screeched as he was scorched by the lightning.

She then launched a grenade and knocked Neji down.

Acting quickly, Neji decided to go on the defensive.

As before, he twirled around to avoid the grenades.

However, he was to find out that his Revolving Heaven technique could be countered with enough force.

Nora launched herself in the air with one of her grenades.

"Hmm?" asked Neji.

Nora then slammed into Neji with her hammer from above.

Neji screeched and collapsed on the ground.

"Yeah! I did it!" exclaimed Nora.

Nora started to dance.

Neji helped himself to his feet, and looked at Nora.

"How...am I losing to this?" thought Neji to himself.

It looked as if he had underestimated his opponent.

Nearby, Jaune and Hinata were watching the fight.

"It looks like your cousin is getting clobbered." stated Jaune.

"I was hoping his ego would get toned down a peg." answered Hinata.

"Yeah...he's acting like Cardin did...before you knocked some sense to him, of course." stated the blonde.

"People won't stop talking about that." noted the kunoichi. They thought that she was some sort of superheroine.

"I can't believe I have to do this..." thought Neji.

As Nora was still dancing, Neji decided to use his Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms technique.

He dashed towards Nora and started sealing off her tenkutsu.

"What the-" exclaimed Nora.

Neji kept sealing Nora's tenkutsu, and eventually, Nora started to feel drained.

"Ugh..." stated Nora.

Neji sighed in relief. He had to admit, Nora had come closer to defeating him than he would have liked to admit.

He began to gasp for breath.

Nora picked up her hammer.

"Are you still trying to fight me? I went ahead and sealed up your tenketsu...you're lucky you can still stand." stated Neji.

"Why do you have to be so cruel? What did Rennie ever do to you?" questioned Nora.

Neji sighed.

"Well, if you must know, there was a conspiracy to kidnap Hinata a long time ago...they wanted her eyes. Of course, my uncle wouldn't allow it and he killed the Mistral ninja that had captured Hinata...unfortunately, the Mistral kingdom thought it was an act of terrorism." stated the teenage boy.

"Hmm?" asked Nora.

"We tried to explain the situation, but unfortunately they wouldn't let us. They demanded that they kill my uncle in retaliation. But being a member of the main household, he forced a member of the branch household to kill himself instead. That person happened to be my father." answered Neji.

A tear left Nora's eye.

"So as you can see, Valkyrie, it's pointless to fight destiny. You're wasting your time." stated the teenage boy.

Nora raised an eyebrow.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say that you were trying to fight your own destiny." said Nora.

"What?!" exclaimed Neji.

"Yeah...apparently you don't want to be a servant." answered the teenage girl.

This aggravated Neji, and he lunged towards Nora.

Iruka wondered if he was going to have to disqualify Neji.

However, as it turned out, he did not.

As Neji charged towards Nora, Nora suddenly whacked him with her hammer.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Nora.

"What?!" shouted Neji.

Nora then grabbed Neji's arm and electrocuted him.

"Gah!" exclaimed Neji.

Nora then finished off Neji with a hammer strike to the head.

Neji collapsed on the ground.

"This can't be...my destiny." said Neji.

"Who would have thought that Neji would lose?" asked Sakura.

"How exactly did he win though?" inquired Sasuke.

"I think I might have an explanation..." answered Shino.

"Hmm?" questioned the pink-haired girl.

"During my fight, I noticed that Nora had large amounts of chakra. Perhaps Neji's eight trigrams sixty-four palms technique wasn't able to get it all." stated the bug user. The same thing happened when his bugs tried draining Nora's chakra.

"Whoa..." answered Sakura.

She had to admit, Nora's chakra levels were pretty impressive.

"The winner is Nora Valkyrie!" exclaimed Iruka.

Nora smiled.

Ren suddenly woke up.

Somehow, he got the feeling that Nora had avenged him.

He felt rather proud of her.

He smiled.

 _Well, it looks like Dosu's dead. I guess you don't mess with Gaara. He is the one-tails jinchuriki after all. Makes you wonder why people decide to mess with Naruto. Then again, he did pretty badly at ninja school._

 _And of course, Yoroi and Misumi are dead too. Since they disappeared following the Chunin Exams I figure why not show off how deadly Penny is? I believe Cinder questioned why Penny looked like a normal human girl when she was capable of destroying bulkheads so I figured why not run with it._

 _I hope you're enjoying Nora's fight with Neji._


	26. Chapter 26: Friend vs Friend

_In this chapter, there's going to be a friendly duel between friends...of course, considering I like crossover ships, they might end up becoming more than friends. You never know._

 _The Chunin Exam invasion isn't going to begin just yet. However, it will interrupt one of the fights._

 _I hope you enjoy watching Naruto fight Ruby and Jaune fight Hinata._

 _You'll also see Ino fight Penny...though the two of them don't know each other too well. Meh._

 **Chapter 26: Friend vs Friend**

Now that Nora had finished her fight with Neji (and surprisingly managed to win against him), it was time for Naruto and Ruby to begin their fight. The audience were waiting for another battle. Hopefully it would be as entertaining as the first one.

Curious, Naruto noticed that Ruby hadn't brought Zwei with her.

"Are you going to use Zwei?" asked Naruto.

"He's at the vet right now." answered Ruby. Whenever Zwei heard the word "vet", he panicked.

"OK..." answered the blonde genin.

"By the way, what did you think of the fight between Neji and Nora?" inquired Ruby. Personally she thought that it had been rather exciting. And it thankfully didn't have a depressing ending like the fight between Neji and Ren.

"I have to admit, that was quite a battle." noted Naruto.

Ruby nodded with agreement. Who would have thought that Nora of all people would take down Neji? Then again, it was Hinata who had taken down Cardin during the Chunin Exam preliminaries, not someone who was also known for being strong like Gaara or his siblings.

Naruto wondered what would have happened if he had challenged Neji. Would he have won? That attack he used that disabled your chakra points seemed pretty effective.

But then again, maybe he could counter it using the nine-tailed fox. Nora had countered it because of the simple fact that she had so much chakra.

Ruby pulled out her scythe while Naruto got ready to summon shadow clones. He was capable of summoning quite a few these days.

He wondered if he should get a weapon like Ruby did. Fighting with a weapon did have its perks. Every now and then you would have to repair it...but with all the money he was making going on missions, it was worth it.

Then again, he did pack a mean punch. He might not be as good at taijutsu as Rock Lee but he was still a good fighter.

Still, it would be useful to fire bullets at his foes.

"Are you ready, Naruto?" asked Iruka.

"Yes...though it does feel awkward fighting my friend." noted Naruto. Thankfully, he hadn't had to do that during the Chunin Exams preliminaries. He had gone up against a member of Team JHAK instead.

"Just think of it as a friendly match." answered the chunin.

Naruto nodded. Why not? It wasn't exactly a fight to the death. They weren't on a mission at the moment.

Some of the crowd were cheering for Naruto, others were cheering for Ruby.

Of course, one of the people cheering for Ruby was Taiyang Xiao Long.

With him was her uncle Qrow.

Ruby nodded as well.

Ruby attacked first, spinning towards Naruto like a tornado.

"Here I go!" exclaimed Ruby.

However, Naruto summoned several shadow clones to help even the odds.

"I saw this one coming." thought Ruby.

Even so, Ruby seemed to be cutting through them like butter. She was proficient with that scythe alright.

Of course, he had seen that scythe in action himself. She had killed many Grimm in the past.

Naruto wondered if he could keep up.

He then remembered that he could always rely on Kurama's chakra to support him.

He decided to ask for permission.

Kurama agreed. However, he got the feeling that his chakra might not be so useful against Ruby.

Naruto was about to find out why.

As soon as Naruto used Kurama's chakra, Ruby's eyes began to glow.

"Hmm?" asked Naruto.

Ruby then shot a white beam at Naruto.

"Uh-oh..." thought the blonde genin.

Naruto was knocked off his feet.

Fortunately for Naruto, he was unharmed.

However, Kurama's chakra disappeared.

"Uh-oh!" exclaimed Naruto.

Now that Kurama was out of the picture, he was going to have a harder time winning this.

"These silver eyes sure are useful." noted Ruby.

"I'll say." agreed the fellow genin.

Naruto had his clones combine themselves into a ball.

He then kicked it towards Ruby.

However, Ruby was fast enough to avoid it. It seemed like she was getting faster every day.

She slashed the ball with her scythe, causing it to disperse.

One of the remaining clones attempted to punch Ruby, but she kicked it away.

Naruto noted that it seemed like he and Ruby seemed evenly matched, even if Ruby didn't use shadow clones like he did.

And of course, due to Ruby's silver eyes, he couldn't just use Kurama's chakra to gain the upper hand. Those silver eyes were surprisingly powerful...though they only seemed effective against those that were evil.

That certainly presented a problem.

And to make matters worse, Naruto couldn't use his sexy jutsu since Ruby was a girl. He could try using a jutsu to turn himself into a sexy man. Then again, he already thought he was sexy.

Incidentally, his last opponent in the Chunin Exams had also been a female.

It was inconvenient for him, not being able to use his sexy jutsu.

Fighting her had been challenging but it was certainly enjoyable.

Suddenly, he noticed that Ruby was charging at him with a scythe.

Normally, he was against the idea of punching women...but there was one charging right at him. He wasn't looking forward to getting hurt.

So, he got ready to punch.

Naruto punched Ruby just as Ruby slashed him with her scythe.

Both of them collapsed on the ground.

"Looks like we have a stalemate." said Iruka.

Naruto and Ruby got back up.

"That was fun." stated Ruby.

"I'm glad you've gotten stronger." answered Naruto. He'd be disappointed if Ruby wasn't getting stronger.

Yang shrugged. It looked like neither of her teammates were going further in the finals.

Ruby nodded. She had been working on using her scythe. Since she had designed it herself it wasn't too hard to add some upgrades.

However, Kakashi also suggested that she try working on taijutsu instead of simply focusing on her scythe. That way she didn't have to worry about suddenly being disarmed. Her sister was good at taijutsu, so it didn't seem like a bad idea.

Also, it didn't cost much chakra so it was practical to use in a fight. That was why Rock Lee preferred it due to his lack of chakra.

Likewise, Naruto had considered getting a weapon.

However, he wondered which one he should use.

He considered getting a scythe like Ruby, but he didn't fancy himself as a farmer. Although, it would be satisfying to cut down Grimm.

He decided maybe he could try using ninja shuriken. He didn't seem like a bad shot back when he was at the ninja academy. It was one of the few things that he was good at back when he was a student.

If he had known then that he had the nine-tailed fox living in his stomach, perhaps he could have used his chakra to pass the classes.

Well, now that he knew how to use it, he was better prepared for a fight.

"Next up is...Hinata and Jaune." said Iruka.

Hinata and Jaune nodded and entered the arena.

"It's nice having a friendly match between friends." noted Jaune.

Hinata nodded. It certainly was. It was a shame that their friends hadn't made it to the Chunin Exam finals. But at least Jaune didn't have to go to the finals alone.

Of course, Nora had gone up against someone who was anything but her friend.

Speaking of which...how was her cousin doing at the hospital?

She sure hoped he was doing OK...even if he had kind of had what happened to him coming.

 _Meanwhile..._

Neji laid on his bed, wondering how he had lost to Nora out of all hunters. He was supposed to be one of the strongest genin there was, and yet he lost to someone that he considered to be inferior to himself. He had trained himself to use certain techniques since the main household had decided to withhold certain jutsu from him.

Perhaps she was stronger than he thought.

Was it true? Was destiny not set in stone like he thought? Was it possible to make your own destiny? He knew that he had tried that though he wasn't quite sure if it could be done.

He had to admit, it was clever that she tossed sand into her eyes to prevent him from using the Byakugan.

On the lighter side of things, the doctor said that he would recover in a day or two.

That was nice to hear.

Suddenly, his uncle entered the room.

"Yes, uncle?" asked Neji. Was he going to disinherit him from his clan because he wasn't strong enough?

"About my brother...I actually didn't send him to his death. He volunteered to sacrifice himself." stated Hiashi.

Neji gasped.

"What?!" exclaimed Neji.

"He figured that the Hyuga clan needed me to guide them...and that since it was the branch house's duty to protect the main house, he should sacrifice himself instead of me." answered Hiashi.

Now that Neji thought of it, that made sense. Why would be Hiashi be so willing to kill his own brother?

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you that sooner. Of course, I didn't assume that you would think that I forced your father to sacrifice himself. I would never do that." stated the uncle of Neji.

Neji sighed in belief.

"My brother may be dead, but at least he left something to remember him by." noted Hiashi.

Neji nodded. He did bear some resemblance to his father.

"Anyways, your cousin is fighting her friend as we speak. Hopefully it will be a good training session for both of them." answered the man.

Neji decided to watch the fight.

It was an interesting matchup. Despite not seeming like good fighters at first, they had both done surprisingly well at the Chunin Exams.

Perhaps that was why they were fighting each other in the finals.

 _At the Chunin Exams arena..._

"Are you two ready?" asked Iruka.

Hinata and Jaune nodded.

"Fight!" exclaimed the chunin.

Jaune got into a defensive stance.

Hinata thought at first about using her Gentle Fist technique. She could insert her chakra into Jaune's chakra pathway system. That would effectively cripple his fighting capability.

However, she then realized that maybe attacking someone who was armed with a sword when all you had was your fists wasn't such a good idea. Besides, Jaune was wearing body armor that would protect his torso from her strikes.

So, she decided that she would think outside the box.

Fortunately, Kurenai had taught her an invisibility technique.

Personally Hinata thought it suited her personality. She used to be shy before she became part of a ninja squad.

However, she hadn't been so shy ever since she met Jaune. They were a lot alike.

Of course, Jaune had been known to be more reckless than she was. That was a flaw of his.

Luckily, he wasn't making that mistake of charging at his foe without caution this time. Kurenai had suggested that he be more observant.

Hinata used her invisibility technique.

"Where did she go?" asked Jaune.

Suddenly, Jaune found himself being slapped in the face.

"Ouch!" exclaimed the teenage boy.

Jaune rubbed his cheek.

And again.

Jaune wondered what was going on.

It then occurred to him that perhaps Hinata had used a cloaking jutsu. Kurenai had been training them in the art of espionage.

However, he noticed that while Hinata was invisible, her shadow wasn't.

He tried stabbing Hinata where her shadow was, which worked.

"Ow!" exclaimed Hinata.

Hinata's cloaking jutsu wore off, and she was visible again.

"Darn it...you managed to find me." said Hinata. Jaune was rather observant.

Well, cloaking jutsu wasn't perfect.

Jaune admittedly could have tried using the sand in the arena to find Hinata, but since Neji had already been blinded by the sand Hinata would probably figure out what he was doing.

"I guess you couldn't conceal your shadow." noted Jaune.

Hinata nodded. That would probably be a disadvantage if she went up against Shikamaru.

Luckily, Hinata wasn't cowardly enough to attack Jaune from behind, so that made defending himself easier.

"I don't get it...why did you slap me instead of using your Gentle Fist?" asked Jaune.

"Well, you don't aggravate me like Cardin did." noted Hinata.

"True..." answered the blonde.

Meanwhile, Nora was resting on a bench.

She had to admit, she felt less energetic than normal after that match.

It was an unusual experience for her, not feeling so energetic.

Usually she had something to be excited about.

It had worn away at her chakra reserves.

Luckily, she would be ready for her next fight.

Of course, she wasn't sure who it was going to be yet.

It could be anyone.

At that very moment, Ren approached her.

"Hi, Rennie!" exclaimed Nora.

"Hey, Nora. You seem less energetic than usual." noted Ren.

"I know..." nodded the hammer-wielding girl.

"I guess that fight kind of wore you out." answered the teenage boy.

"Uh-huh." stated Nora.

"Anyways, congratulations on beating Neji." said Ren.

Nora smiled.

Since she had won the fight, maybe she could go visit the pancakeria.

She didn't want to be gone for too long though. It was only a matter of time before she would face her next opponent.

Since the Third Hokage had free time on his hands, he had decided to watch the Chunin Exams himself along with the Fourth Kazekage.

However, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was something odd about the man standing next to him.

Not only that, but he seemed somehow familiar.

He wondered what was going on.

Meanwhile, Jaune and Hinata were in a slapfight.

"Hinata I could understand...but why Jaune?" asked Asuma.

"Well...he does have seven sisters. Maybe they were the ones that taught him how to fight." noted Kurenai.

She wasn't sure.

"True..." nodded the Sarutobi jonin.

Suddenly, Hinata slapped Jaune...really hard.

Jaune started to feel rather woozy.

He collapsed on top of Hinata.

Hinata's face turned red.

She ended up fainting.

"Erm...I'm not sure what happened. But it looks like we have another stalemate." stated Iruka.

Jaune realized what was going on, and got back up.

"Sorry, Hinata. Didn't mean to embarrass you like that." said Jaune.

"It's OK." answered Hinata. It was nice to face an opponent that was essentially her equal. When she went up against Cardin, she thought she was going to lose. But she was wrong in the end.

She noticed that her father was watching the exams along with her younger sister.

Apparently, they had wanted to see her in action...and root for her, apparently.

She thought that was sweet.

"Hinata sure has gotten strong, hasn't she?" asked Hanabi.

"Mm-hmm." nodded Hiashi.

Personally Hanabi was looking forward to being the heiress of the clan, but sometimes she had to question why her father treated her the way she did. But at least they seemed to have made amends.

Meanwhile, Weiss noticed that her father and her brother hadn't shown up for the Chunin Exams.

Personally she was disappointed that Neji had lost to Nora. Of course, she got the feeling that perhaps Neji would lose a battle sooner or later. He seemed to be kind of asking for it.

She thought it was annoying that neither of them had shown up. Was her father's work more important than her own daughter? And did her own brother not support her being a huntsman?

However, her sister did show up for the exams, so at least that was something.

Her mother had also shown up, but she seemed to be spending more time drinking than watching the exams.

It seemed that she was rooting for her during the Chunin Exam finals. She was impressed that she had managed to make it that far. Of course, she wouldn't have made it through the Forest Of Death without the support of her teammates. She was glad that they were on her side.

Meanwhile, Penny dashed to tell General Ironwood the dire news.

She spotted him watching the exams.

She was about to tell him about Orochimaru's betrayal, when suddenly she noticed who appeared to be the Fourth Kazekage sitting next to the Third Hokage.

"Huh?" asked Penny.

She wondered if she was simply imagining things.

Still, it didn't seem like she had imagined the Fourth Kazekage's murder.

She was confused.

Suddenly, General Ironwood spoke to her.

"There you are, Penny! It's time for you to fight against Ino!" exclaimed the general.

"Oh!" exclaimed Penny. It was a good thing that she had shown up in time.

"She's waiting for you as we speak." stated General Ironwood.

Personally, Ino hoped that Shikamaru didn't chicken out of the Chunin Exam finals.

She was aware of him being a slacker.

Cardin enjoyed watching Hinata and Jaune fight each other. Of course, he wasn't planning on bullying Jaune anytime soon. The last time he had done that, he got a ticket to the hospital.

Since Penny didn't want to keep her opponent waiting, she decided to head to the arena.

"There you are! I heard you're a strong opponent...that's OK! I like a challenge!" exclaimed Ino.

Penny nodded.

Regardless of who the won, she got the feeling that she was going to have fun.

Temari contacted General Ironwood on her scroll.

"You sure you want to attack Vale? It doesn't seem like we're attacking bad people..." noted Temari.

"That's for the Fourth Kazekage to decide, not me." answered General Ironwood.

Temari shrugged.

Kankuro sighed. It looked like they were going to have to invade Vale whether they liked it or not.

Well, at least they had General Ironwood at his side...along with his legion of robots.

Just how many robots did he have anyway?

Ino attacked first, trying to punch Penny.

However, though the punch connected, she felt like she had hit something hard.

Did Penny have some sort of defensive jutsu or something?

Currently, Shikamaru was taking a snooze. He didn't seem to be taking the finals seriously.

"You think I'll be able to defeat Gaara?" Rock Lee asked to Might Guy.

"Just do the best you can!" exclaimed Might Guy.

Penny returned the favor...and sent Ino crashing into a wall.

Ino gasped in shock.

Penny was one strong girl.

Perhaps trying to fight at close range wasn't a good idea.

She tried using her mind transfer jutsu,

However, much to her surprise, the mind transfer jutsu had no effect.

Ino wondered what was going on.

She could have sworn that she had seen the mind transfer jutsu strike Penny.

Were her eyes playing tricks on her? Maybe it was a genjutsu.

Orochimaru noted that General Ironwood's robot was rather impressive. However, he had to question why it resembled a human. None of his other robots resembled humans though they DID have a humanoid shape.

He might have to ask him about it.

Of course, he didn't know about the recording device. Otherwise, he would have destroyed Penny as well.

Penny launched several swords at Ino.

The blades struck her down.

"Ugh..." said Ino.

"It looks like Penny Polendina wins the fight." stated Iruka.

Her father Dr. Argent smirked.

However, he decided that perhaps it would be best if she didn't fight Pyrrha. She had magnetic powers.

Fortunately, it seemed that she was fighting the puppet master for the time being.

The next hunters to fight in the arena were Shikamaru and Weiss. Incidentally, both of them were smart individuals.

However, Weiss was not as lazy as Shikamaru was.

Shikamaru woke up from his slumber, stretching his arms.

"Alright, let's get this over with." said Shikamaru.

 _I hope you liked this chapter. Sakura vs. Ino ended in a stalemate so I figured there would be draws in the Chunin Exam finals in my fanfic. I figured Jaune falling on top of Hinata would be amusing._

 _And yes, I referenced PVP...that was a dark episode. I'm not going to spoil it though._

 _In the next chapter, things are going to get ugly...oh, and Shikamaru and Weiss will have their fight._


	27. Chapter 27: Konoha Crush

_In this chapter, the Konoha Crush is going to begin. There's going to be bloodshed. And it's not just because of Gaara. Orochimaru's plotting the destruction of Vale. He's planning on assassinating the Third Hokage._

 _Of course, that will probably be familiar to if you watched the original Naruto. It was a real tragedy. But on the lighter side, it prevented Orochimaru from getting his hands on Sasuke's body._

 _Oh, and Weiss is going to fight Shikamaru and Gaara is going to fight Rock Lee. Rest assured that Rock Lee's fight with Gaara isn't going to turn out like the one in canon. That doesn't necessarily mean he'll win though._

 **Chapter 27: Konoha Crush**

Weiss stepped into the arena.

Shikamaru stepped into the arena as well, letting out a yawn as he did so.

"Alright, let's get this over with." said Shikamaru. That way he could go back to his nap.

Of course, something told Weiss that he wasn't going to put everything into the fight, even if she was planning to do her best. It seems that he wasn't too interested in progressing further into the tournament, since that would involve more work.

He was a slacker.

At least Asuma was encouraging him not to slack too much. That would hinder his team when they were on missions.

Weiss pulled out her sword while Shikamaru half-heartedly attempted to use his shadow binding technique.

Suddenly, Weiss heard a ribbiting noise.

"Hmm?" asked Weiss.

She looked around to find where the ribbiting was coming from.

Last time she checked, she wasn't at a pond. The arena was more like a desert...similar to the climate of Atlas.

As she discovered, a toad had followed her into the arena.

Weiss shrugged. She had been training under the toad sage.

She decided to keep it around. It might prove to be useful, and it didn't seem to be poisonous.

"Are you ready?" asked Iruka.

Weiss and Shikamaru nodded.

Weiss started by launching a wave of snow at Shikamaru.

However, he was fast enough to avoid it.

He then attempted to bind Weiss using his shadow jutsu.

Weiss ran away in order to avoid it.

However, the shadow continued to follow her.

It looked as if Shikamaru was keeping her on the defensive.

Shikamaru was anything if not persistent, and she was forced to keep avoiding it.

However, the shadow in question seemed to be getting faster and faster.

Eventually, it caught her by the ankle.

"Finally! This was taking forever!" exclaimed Shikamaru. He sure was hoping that this fight would end soon. Besides, he had expended a lot of chakra trying to grab onto Weiss's shadow.

"Uh-oh..." thought Weiss. This didn't bode too well. Now she ran the risk of being stabbed by her own sword.

Sure enough, it seemed that Shikamaru was getting ready to do just that.

Suddenly, she noticed that the toad that she was with had disappeared.

She wondered where the toad had gone.

Had it gone to a pond somewhere?

Weiss looked around.

Now that she thought of it, toads could stay away from water longer than frogs could. It seemed odd than the toad would leave so suddenly.

She then noticed the toad behind Shikamaru.

"Huh? Why is he behind Shikamaru?" thought Weiss.

Had the toad taken a liking to Shikamaru as well? Then again, all he ever seemed to do for fun was watch the clouds.

The toad might not be interested in that.

Suddenly, the toad stuck out his tongue, causing Shikamaru to trip and fall.

"What the-" said Shikamaru.

This caused him to dispel the shadow jutsu.

Shikamaru wondered what had happened.

He then noticed that his shadow jutsu was no longer in effect.

"This isn't good." thought Shikamaru. Now he was vulnerable to attack.

Realizing what had happened, Weiss realized that she was free to try to attack Shikamaru again.

Weiss then approached Shikamaru with her sword and slashed him.

"Agh!" exclaimed Shikamaru.

Weiss then followed by grabbing Shikamaru by the heel with snow and then slamming him into the arena.

She did admit that she was inspired by Gaara...though she chose to use snow instead of sand. She was more familiar with snow than she was with sand.

Shikamaru passed out on the ground.

"Well, at least he didn't chicken out." noted Ino.

Weiss had to admit, having the ability to control snow was useful. Since she typically used ice dust she figured that she would try using ninjutsu involving snow. She was rather good at it.

Choji sighed in disappointment. He thought he was going to win for a second.

Well, now that Shikamaru and Ino had both been eliminated from the tournament, it looks like Nora was the only one on her team still remaining in the tournament.

"It looks like Weiss Schnee is our winner...though I wondered what caused Shikamaru to suddenly dispel the shadow jutsu..." stated Iruka. It had happened so suddenly.

"Let's just say I had a little help..." answered Weiss.

The toad smiled.

He was happy to have been on service. Weiss was the apprentice of the toad sage so he figured, why not give her a hand?

After her fight with Shikamaru, Weiss was just about to leave the arena...

...when suddenly she noticed Gaara being hassled by two chunin.

"I would throw the match if I were you. You see, our employer bet a lot of money on your opponent to win. I guess he likes martial arts movies." stated one of the chunin.

"Yeah...if you don't want to get hurt, I suggest you forfeit." answered another one of the chunin.

This angered Gaara, and sand began to leak out of his bag.

However, before bloodshed could ensue, Weiss suddenly stepped in. She decided that she wasn't going to allow those two chunin to extort the son of the Fourth Kazekage.

"What is going on here?" asked Weiss.

"This doesn't concern you, lady. Move along." answered one of the chunin.

"How much is he paying you?" inquired the white-haired huntress.

"25000 ryo." stated another one of the chunin.

"I can double that." answered Weiss.

"You can?!" exclaimed one of the chunin.

"Of course I can. I am the heiress of the Schnee dust company after all." stated the teenage girl. Sometimes she wished that she WASN'T the heiress of the Schnee Dust company, admittedly, but sometimes being wealthy could come in handy.

Weiss paid the chunin 50000 ryo each.

"Alright then! We're sorry we bothered you! We'll be on our way." stated the two chunin.

The two chunin left Gaara alone.

"No need to thank me. I just figured you shouldn't have to throw the match...that would be disappointing to the audience." noted Weiss. They were expecting a show.

Curious, she noticed that Gaara had a rather confused expression on his face.

It wasn't every day that people showed him kindness...not in his village at least.

He stepped into the arena, still wondering if he had been imagining things.

"I wonder why he looked at me like that..." questioned Weiss.

Rock Lee stepped into the arena shortly afterwards.

"When you're ready, begin the match!" exclaimed Iruka.

Rock Lee nodded.

Gaara attacked first, launching sand at Rock Lee.

Rock Lee leapt out of the way in order to avoid it.

He attempted to punch Gaara, but Gaara blocked it with his sand shield.

Rock Lee continued to use taijutsu, but Gaara kept using his sand shield in order to block it.

It looked as if he was going to have to try something different.

So, he decided to fire off a water bullet.

It pierced right through the sand shield and hit Gaara.

Gaara clutched his cheek.

Rock Lee continued launching water bullets.

Gaara quickly formed sand around himself to block the bullets.

Suddenly, he noticed that his cheek was bleeding.

Gaara screamed.

Rock Lee wondered why Gaara was screaming. He didn't mortally wound him, did he?

It wasn't a very powerful attack.

In retaliation, Gaara launched Sand Hail at Rock Lee.

Rock Lee quickly backflipped out of the way.

However, Gaara continued attacking him.

Rock Lee spun around and diverted the sand away from himself.

A wide smiled formed on Gaara's face as he continued fighting Rock Lee.

He was starting to feel bloodthirsty again.

At this rate, Shukaku was going to take over.

As Rock Lee battled Gaara, Weiss decided to cheer her teammate on.

But for some strange reason, she was starting to hear laughter coming from Gaara.

Why exactly was he laughing?

However, she suddenly heard something that was rather alarming.

Temari and Kankuro were watching the fight nearby, and they were both having a conversation with each other.

"That boy has no idea what he's getting into..." noted Temari.

Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"I'll say! Remember when Gaara killed those genin during the Forest Of Death?" asked Kankuro. It was nasty. Blood was sent raining throughout the forest.

Weiss's blood ran as cold as her ice.

"Yeah...there was lots of bloodshed." answered Temari.

Weiss's eyes widened.

"Gaara's...a serial killer?" inquired Weiss.

"If I had to guess, I'd have to say it was Gaara who killed Dosu last night..." noted Kankuro. Traces of sand had been found near his body.

Weiss gasped.

Her face turned as white as her hair.

"I can't let Rock Lee fight Gaara! He could end up being crippled...or even killed!" thought Weiss to herself.

Although, now that she thought of it, why exactly was Gaara a serial killer?

Surely there had to be a reason for it. People didn't become evil just for the heck of it.

She was about to get an answer.

"You know, the sad thing about it is, he wasn't always evil. He actually used to be a sweet boy." noted Kankuro.

"Yeah, I know. You think that if our father treated him differently, he wouldn't have turned out this way?" asked Temari.

"True...but on the other hand, I don't think it's just him to blame. None of the villagers ever wanted to be near him. Apparently, they thought that he was some sort of monster or something. It was only a matter of time before Gaara thought HE was a monster. And unfortunately, this caused him to act like one." answered the puppet master.

Personally he didn't think Gaara was a monster.

"Huh. Now that I think of it, we both seem a lot alike." answered Weiss. Her father treated her like a possession, and she WAS rather lonely before she became a huntress.

A few seconds later, she remembered what she was doing.

"Oh, that's right. I must stop the match immediately!" thought the ice huntress. There was no point in letting Rock Lee get hurt.

However, just as she was about to enter the arena, she suddenly noticed that everyone around her seemed to be feeling sleepy. They were all yawning.

Shortly afterwards, they fell asleep.

On closer inspection, this seemed to be the work of a genjutsu.

Fortunately, it seemed that she was strong enough to resist it.

She wondered what was going on, when suddenly one of General Ironwood's robots approached her.

"Huh?" asked Weiss.

It then began to shoot at her with a pistol.

Quickly, she blocked the bullets with her sword.

Nearby, she noticed that other robots were attacking ninja as well.

"Holy mother of Monty Oum, it's an invasion!" thought Weiss to herself.

Quickly, she calmed herself. There was no point in panicking. If she didn't panic, she had a better chance of surviving.

She wondered who was behind all of this. Was it the Fourth Kazekage?

Then again, not all of the ninja attacking Vale looked like sand ninja.

Some of them looked like the White Fang.

Something strange was going on.

If the White Fang were attacking, chances are she would be in danger. There was bad blood between the Schnee Dust Company and the White Fang company.

Perhaps it would be best if she evacuated.

However, she decided that she should check on her teammates first. Neji was currently at the hospital, so it looked as if HE wouldn't be able to evacuate.

Hopefully he would be alright.

She went to talk to Sakura. Currently, she was fighting off robots. Her punches were tearing through them like a knife through butter.

"Where's Rock Lee?"

Meanwhile, Orochimaru suddenly grabbed the Third Hokage by the arm.

"What are you-" said the Third Hokage.

He then began to drag him away towards a nearby rooftop.

Orochimaru's bodyguards quickly followed.

He then proceeded to remove his disguise.

The Third Hokage was shocked to discover who the person impersonating the Fourth Kazekage was.

"Orochimaru?!" exclaimed the Third Hokage.

"Long time no see, Hiruzen Sarutobi." answered Orochimaru.

With him were his bodyguards, the Sound Four.

Working together, they cast a barrier that surrounded both Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

However, Penny had witnessed Orochimaru removing his disguise.

"Wait...Orochimaru was wearing the Fourth Kazekage's skin? That's messed up..." thought Penny to herself.

Realizing that she DID in fact witness Orochimaru murder the Fourth Kazekage, Penny went to find General Ironwood.

However, before she could so, Adam Taurus approached her.

He was carrying a remote in his right hand.

"There you are! It's time for you to lay waste to this human city..." said Adam.

Adam pressed the button and suddenly Penny's eyes began to glow red.

The green lines along her black collar began to glow red as well, as well as the green lines on the side of her stockings.

"Must destroy Vale." said Penny in a robotic voice.

"Very good. Kill as many Vale ninjas as you can." answered Adam.

Penny nodded and went to hunt them down.

Meanwhile, Blake woke up from the genjutsu.

"What happened?" asked Blake. The last thing she remembered was her suddenly feeling sleepy, even though it was the middle of the daytime. She was dreaming about her home back at Mistral.

She noticed that she was sleeping right on top of Kiba.

Her face turned red.

Quickly, she stepped off of him.

At that very moment, Kurenai approached them.

"There you are! I was worried about you...but at least you seem to be alright." said Kurenai.

With her were Jaune and Hinata.

"There you are! We're in the middle of an invasion!" exclaimed Hinata.

"It looks as if the sand village has turned on us..." noted Jaune.

"Yeah...why is Atlas attacking us? And why are the White Fang working with them?" asked the kunoichi.

"I don't know..." answered Kurenai.

Suddenly, Adam Taurus approached them.

"Hello Blake. Remember me?" asked Adam.

Blake gasped.

Adam pulled out a sword.

"You really shouldn't have betrayed us, Blake." stated Adam.

"I know that you're mad at Vale for mistreating Faunus, but destroying Vale is not the solution." said Blake.

"They're going to pay for what they've done." answered the White Fang leader.

"I need you all to run." answered Kurenai.

"What about you?" asked Kiba.

"This isn't the opponent that you can take on." answered Team JHAK's jonin instructor.

"She's right. Adam is too powerful." answered Blake.

Hinata sighed.

"Alright, if you say so." stated Hinata.

Team JHAK leapt away.

Adam Taurus attacked first, attempting to slash Kurenai.

However, Kurenai managed to evade it.

Back at the arena, General Ironwood was instructing the Sand Siblings of their next action. They had picked up Gaara and had taken him outside the arena, much to Rock Lee's confusion.

Had he REALLY wounded Gaara badly?

"Should we send out Gaara?" asked Temari. It looked as if the invasion had begun.

"Actually, no. He seems to be feeling mentally unstable after his opponent drew blood. If he summons Shukaku, he won't distinguish from friend or foe." answered General Ironwood.

Temari noted that it WOULD be pretty bad if Gaara did end up summoning Shukaku.

"I don't think he's experienced that before." noted Kankuro.

"Exactly. It's unfortunate that he won't be able to contribute to the invasion...but we'll continue it regardless." answered the general.

Kankuro and Temari nodded.

Together, they began to head back to Atlas.

Rock Lee, feeling guilty about accidentally wounding his opponent, decided to follow Gaara so that he could apologize to him.

Meanwhile, Weiss went to talk to Sakura.

"There you are! Where's Rock Lee?" asked Weiss.

"He went to follow Gaara...I think he felt guilty about wounding his opponent." answered Sakura.

"What?!" exclaimed Weiss.

"I'm going to check on Neji." stated the kunoichi.

"I have to save him!" exclaimed Weiss.

"OK, but are you sure you want to go alone? We're in the middle of a battle here..." noted Sakura.

Weiss noted that Sakura had a good point.

She noticed Yang and Pyrrha nearby.

"Rock Lee is in danger! Can you help?" asked Weiss.

Yang and Pyrrha nodded.

Together, the three of them went to search for the Sand Siblings.

Meanwhile, Ozpin noticed the purple barrier.

"Ozpin! Can you help? We've tried getting past the barrier but it's impenetrable!" exclaimed one of the leaf ninja.

Ozpin nodded.

However, before he could cast a jutsu that would dispel the barrier, he suddenly heard loud footsteps.

As it turned out, Orochimaru knew that Ozpin would try to dispel the barrier (thanks to his employer forewarning him of the Third Hokage's advisor), so he had brought along an old enemy of his.

"Ozpin!" exclaimed Hazel.

Ozpin gasped. He recognized that voice.

"Oh no...not him." thought Ozpin.

Hazel cracked his knuckles.

"You're going to pay for what you've done! This is for my sister!" exclaimed Hazel.

Hazel charged towards Ozpin, tossing the Vale ninja aside.

It looked as if Ozpin wasn't going to be able to dispel the barrier.

His hands were full at the moment...and speaking of hands...Hazel was swinging his fists at the hot chocolate drinker.

"Now that your advisor is out of the picture, let's begin, shall we?" asked Orochimaru.

Orochimaru pulled out a sword out of his mouth.

However, he noticed the Third Hokage was taking off his robes.

He discovered that the Third Hokage was wearing body armor.

"What's this? It seems like you were prepared for the invasion." noted Orochimaru.

"We received word that you were in the kingdom...so I advised my ninja to stay on alert." explained the Third Hokage.

"No matter. To be honest, I wanted a challenge." answered the Sannin.

"Why are you trying to burn your own home to the ground?" asked Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"I was promised immortality...by a very unique woman." stated Orochimaru.

"What?! You're working with her?! She's a demon! A monster!" exclaimed the Third Hokage.

"I've had people call me that myself." noted the Sannin.

Orochimaru changed his face to that of a woman.

The Third Hokage's eyes widened in shock.

"You would renounce your humanity for immortality?" asked the Third Hokage.

"If it means obtaining all the jutsu in the world, then yes." answered Orochimaru.

The Third Hokage raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you think that you can kill your own teacher? I taught you everything you know, Orochimaru." warned the Third Hokage.

"You're right. It would be foolish for me to try to kill my own teacher...unless I brought along some companions of yours." answered Orochimaru.

"What?!" exclaimed the elderly ninja.

Orochimaru pressed his hand on the ground, and three coffins appeared.

Fortunately, the Third Hokage prevented one of the coffins from opening.

Unfortunately, the two other coffins opened.

The Third Hokage gasped in shock.

Inside the coffins were the First and Second Hokage.

"You can bring back the dead?!" exclaimed the Third Hokage.

"You can thank my employer for that." answered Orochimaru.

Hiruzen had to admit, his former pupil had chosen a devious method to assassinate him.

He was starting to question if he should have spared Orochimaru ten years ago, when it was revealed that he was a mad scientist.

Of course, he never suspected that he would start working with her of all people.

Meanwhile, Kabuto was searching for Sasuke. Now seemed a good time to persuade him to join Orochimaru.

However, he was stopped by Kakashi.

"I know who you're here for, Kabuto, and I won't allow it." answered Kakashi.

Kabuto pulled out his chakra scalpel.

He had to admit, he was a bit surprised that Kabuto was working for Orochimaru.

Then again, he wondered why exactly he had gathered so many ninja info cards to prepare himself for the exams only to chicken out of the Chunin Exam preliminaries.

It was rather suspicious.

 _Things do not look good for Vale, do they? Orochimaru has launched his attack. Vale is never going to be the same, that's for sure._

 _And to make matters worse Rock Lee is in danger. He unfortunately doesn't know that Gaara is a dangerous serial killer._

 _But on the lighter side of things, Weiss is on her way. Can she save Rock Lee in time?_

 _We can only hope. I'm not sure if Might Guy could live without him. They're like father and son._


	28. Chapter 28: Rescue Mission

_It's time for our protagonists to face off against the Sand Siblings! We can only hope they can save Rock Lee. We wouldn't want one less genin in this fanfic._

 _Oh, and the Third Hokage is going to have to fight his own teachers, even though they're long dead. Talk about irony. Unfortunately he's outnumbered three to one...but he might have a way to even those odds._

 _Meanwhile, Kakashi is going to face Kabuto. I figured that I would give them a chance to shine during the invasion._

 **Chapter 28: Rescue Mission**

Weiss, Yang, and Pyrrha searched for Rock Lee.

They had to find him before it was too late. Weiss did NOT want to have one less teammate.

Of course, if they wanted to save him, they would have to fight off the Sand Siblings.

Yang found the Sand Siblings first.

She was looking forward to a fight, to say the very least.

She cracked her knuckles.

However, she wondered where Rock Lee was.

Well, Rock Lee would be better off fighting two Sand Siblings instead of one, so fighting one of the Sand Siblings seemed like a good course of action.

"You owe me a fight!" exclaimed Yang, pointing to Temari.

"Hmm?" asked Temari.

"The Chunin Exams? Remember?" inquired the blonde.

"Oh, that's right." answered the wind user. She was supposed to fight Yang during the Chunin Exams finals. It looked like she had left her opponent hanging, on account on her having to go back home along with her two younger siblings.

Well, now seemed as good of a time as any. Of course, there wouldn't be sand ninja cheering her on like in the arena, but she figured that she could live with that.

Temari pulled out her fan.

Kankuro and Gaara continued on.

Temari launched a gust of wind at Yang.

However, Yang countered by using fire.

"You're only adding fuel to the flames!" exclaimed Yang.

Temari then remembered that fire was effective against wind techniques.

It looked like she was at a disadvantage.

Still, she wasn't inclined to give up so easily. She wasn't a quitter. In fact, neither was her opponent.

 _Meanwhile..._

At the Konoha battlefield, a White Fang lieutenant had something very important to tell his soldiers.

"My loyal Faunus, I'm afraid we have a bad situation on our hands." stated the White Fang lieutenant.

The White Fang's troops questioned him.

"We're up against a VERY powerful enemy." stated the lieutenant.

"Who is it?" asked one of the privates.

The lieutenant pointed to Velvet, who currently was taking pictures. Nearby were the remnants of several robots.

"Behind the rabbit Faunus?" asked one of the White Fang members.

"It IS the rabbit Faunus!" exclaimed the White Fang lieutenant.

The White Fang soldiers laughed.

"That'ss no ordinary Faunus! She's the most vicious, deadly, and dangerous Faunus that you've ever set your eyes upon!" exclaimed the White Fang lieutenant.

"You've got to be kidnapping me." answered a White Fang private.

"She's got a vicious streak a mile wide! She's a killer!" exclaimed the White Fang lieutenant.

The White Fang soldiers laughed once more.

"She's got huge, sharp...she can leap about...just look at the robots!" continued the lieutenant, pointing to the robots that had been reduced to scrap metal.

"Yeah, right." answered one of the White Fang soldiers.

The White Fang private approached Velvet, pulling out a dagger.

"Let's make some rabbit stew out of this traitor to the Faunus!" exclaimed the private.

She responded by punching the White Fang private as hard as she could, breaking his neck.

The other White Fang soldiers gasped.

"Monty's Remnant!" exclaimed one of the White Fang faunus.

"I warned you! But you didn't listen to me. You thought that she was a pushover, didn't you? Oh, it's just a harmless little bunny Faunus, right? Well, whose laughing now!" exclaimed the White Fang lieutenant.

The White Fang soldiers noted that they might be in over their heads.

"Should we retreat?" asked a White Fang corporal.

"Yes!" exclaimed the White Fang lieutenant. If they wanted to take down Velvet, they were going to need some serious firepower...which they didn't have at the moment.

"Run away! Run away!" screamed a White Fang private.

The White Fang soldiers fled away from Velvet.

"Good job dealing with those White Fang soldiers, Velvet." said Coco.

Velvet smiled.

"You didn't even have to use your weapon." noted the minigun wielder.

"Uh-huh." nodded Velvet. It certainly gave her a versatile arsenal.

However, she had finite ammunition so it was best not to use it too much.

Cardin (who had been watching the scene after crushing some robots with his hammer) noted that he might want to reconsider bullying Velvet.

On the other hand, the White Fang seemed like acceptable targets.

 _In the forest leading to Atlas..._

A short while after Temari had decided to fight Yang, Pyrrha approached them.

"Another one?" asked Kankuro. They had already encountered a genin a few minutes ago.

It seemed that the genin were itching for a fight.

However, this genin seemed to be rather special.

As it turned out, it was none other than Pyrrha, who seemed to excel at virtually everything.

Pyrrha pulled out her spear and her shield.

"Alright then...Gaara, can you get back to Atlas by yourself?" asked Kankuro.

Gaara nodded. It shouldn't be an issue.

He continued his way towards Atlas.

Kankuro attached his chakra puppet strings to his puppet Crow.

He then proceeded to launch several kunai at Pyrrha.

However, Pyrrha blocked them with her shield.

Kankuro launched more kunai from Crow's mouth at Pyrrha, but for some strange reason none of them seemed to be hitting her. They all fell to the ground before striking the huntress.

He wondered what was going on.

Since Pyrrha was skilled at close-ranged combat (among with many other things), he noted that he might be at a disadvantage. He needed to be able to attack his opponent from a distance or he would be vulnerable to attack.

Perhaps he was lucky that he hadn't been paired up with Rock Lee during the Chunin Exams preliminaries...or Neji or his cousin Hinata. Of course, both of them had been eliminated from the tournament, so if the tournament had gone as planned, he wouldn't have to worry about facing them.

Kankuro decided to try using poison gas. Maybe that would work.

 _Meanwhile..._

Penny Polendina was assaulting the Vale ninja that were defending Vale from Orochimaru, using her various swords to attack the ninja that were attacking her.

It was hard to believe that a cute-looking robot like Penny could be so powerful.

And to make matters worse, the White Fang were releasing Grimm in the city.

Fortunately, it seemed most of them could be killed by genin like himself, especially one that had made it to the Chunin Exams finals. However, it seemed that some of them were chunin caliber.

Curious, Naruto noticed Penny attacking the Vale ninja.

Naruto wondered what was going on. Penny seemed rather friendly, yet here she was, attacking Vale's hunters and huntresses with a smile on her face.

And to make matters worse, it didn't seem like they were able to stop her. That robot was simply too tough.

Suddenly, Penny noticed Naruto.

"Uh-oh." said Naruto.

Penny decided to attack the blonde teenage boy.

Naruto quickly summoned several clones to protect him from Penny.

However, since Penny had several different swords, she could attack several clones at once instead of simply fighting them one at a time.

That did not bode well for Naruto.

And to make matters worse, it didn't seem likely that he could run away. Penny likely could track him down using a radar device. She did have a recording device, so it would make sense that she had a radar as well. Normally Atlas could use it to detect Grimm, but it seemed useful for tracking down enemy ninja as well.

 _In the forest leading to Atlas..._

After both of his siblings had been sent to deal with the Vale ninja that had been tailing them, Gaara ended up encountering Rock Lee again.

Fortunately, he got the feeling that since he had Shukaku on his side, he could handle the martial artist by himself.

Rock Lee wondered where his siblings were. Hadn't they been with him when he had left to head back to Atlas?

Gaara recognized him as his opponent at the Chunin Exams.

"You!" exclaimed Gaara.

"I'm just here to apologize!" shouted Rock Lee.

Fortunately, it seemed that Gaara was alright. He didn't have to worry about his siblings trying to get their revenge on him.

He had to admit, that cut on his cheek had healed up surprisingly quickly.

It was as if Gaara had some sort of healing ability.

"It's too late for that..." answered the sand ninja.

Rock Lee raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, Gaara ended up sprouting an arm similar to that of Shukaku's.

It was the same arm that had killed Dosu.

Rock Lee gasped in shock.

It seemed like Gaara was transforming into some sort of monster.

He then lunged towards Rock Lee with his arm.

Rock Lee quickly dove out of the way.

"What is with him?" thought Rock Lee.

For some strange reason, he reminded him a bit of Naruto.

But since when was Naruto ever this bloodthirsty? Granted, he had been a prankster back when he was a child, but it was doubtful that he had ever been a killer.

Something told him that that the sand ninja that he was up against had a very troubled childhood.

Gaara launched sand at Rock Lee using his other arm, and he quickly leapt out of the way to avoid it.

Rock Lee noted that now would be a good time to remove his leg weights. It was quickly becoming apparent that Gaara had gone off the deep end.

It would be best to stay on the safe side.

He dropped them on the ground, leaving an imprint on the forest floor.

Now that he had removed his leg weights, he was having a much easier time avoiding the sand.

However, he got the feeling that he was going to have to do more than simply remove his leg weights if he wanted to beat Gaara.

He considered running away, but he doubted that Gaara would give up the chase. And leading him back to Vale seemed like a bad idea.

Rock Lee tried striking Gaara, but he only ended up striking a sand clone.

The real Gaara lunged at him from above.

Luckily, Rock Lee leapt out of the way in time.

 _Meanwhile..._

Hazel summoned a tree, then picked it up and began to swing it at Ozpin. He was well-known for his superhuman strength.

Like the 1st Hokage, Hazel was capable of using Wood Release techniques.

Speaking of the 1st Hokage...was that him fighting the 3rd Hokage?

Something was clearly not right. The 1st Hokage had passed away a long time ago. In fact, so had the Second Hokage. The Fourth Hokage had sacrificed himself for the sake of his village around the same time his son had been born.

Ozpin wondered what was going on.

Did Orochimaru...somehow have the ability to bring back the dead?

If so, he was worried about the Third Hokage. Orochimaru could resurrect virtually anyone he wanted with that technique.

Of course, he needed bodies in order to do it...but it was still a very efficient technique.

But unfortunately, his hands were tied at the moment. Hazel was determined to have his revenge. He considered him responsible for killing his sister Gretchen when she chose to be a huntress and ended up being killed by a Grimm attack.

Perhaps this was the reason why he was working with Orochimaru.

Although, something told him that Orochimaru was working with someone himself. How exactly did he learn how to raise the dead?

The 3rd Hokage had never taught him that.

Nearby, the 3rd Hokage was staring at disbelief at the two Hokages Orochimaru had summoned.

"Isn't this one big reunion?" asked Orochimaru.

"You're using my own teachers against me?!" exclaimed the Third Hokage.

"They taught you everything you know, didn't they? What better choices could I have picked?" inquired the Sannin.

The Third Hokage noted that Orochimaru had planned the invasion well.

It was bad enough that he had to fight one Hokage, but now he had to fight two.

Orochimaru pointed at the Third Hokage, and both of the deceased Hokages began to attack him.

Hiruzen noted that it was fortunate that he had prevented the Fourth Hokage from being summoned or he would be in an even worse situation.

He wondered how he was supposed to defeat someone if they were already dead.

The 1st Hokage attacked first, launching several wooden hands at the 3rd Hokage.

The 3rd Hokage quickly evaded them.

However, the 2nd Hokage followed his elder brother's attack by launching a tidal wave at Hiruzen.

The Third Hokage countered by launching a wave of mud to counter the tidal wave.

This proved to be effective, since earth release techniques could be used to counter water release techniques.

However, the 1st Hokage was using his Wood Release abilities to attack Hiruzen once more.

Hiruzen noted that he was outnumbered two to one.

If only there was a way to even the odds.

He then remembered that he had a monkey summon.

Now seemed like a good time to do it.

Ironically, Enma had advised him to kill Orochimaru when he had the chance.

Considering he had been experimenting on his fellow ninja, that might not have been such a bad idea.

Perhaps he had made a bad decision, letting him get away.

Still, he was his pupil, so maybe he was partly responsible for Orochimaru turning out the way he did.

On the other hand, Tsunade and Jiraiya hadn't turned out bad.

Hiruzen pressed his hand on the ground and summoned Enma.

"Yes, Hiruzen?" asked Enma.

He then noticed Orochimaru.

Enma sighed.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." said the monkey king.

"I know..." answered Hiruzen.

"Trying to even the odds, are we?" questioned Orochimaru.

Enma transformed into a staff.

Hiruzen then picked up Enma and began to swing him at the 1st and the 2nd Hokage.

However, the 1st and 2nd Hokages proved themselves to be agile.

Orochimaru wondered if he should try summoning Manda.

However, unlike Enma, Manda wasn't too obedient.

Perhaps he should try something different.

Orochimaru pulled out the Sword Of Kusanagi from his mouth.

Enma may be durable, but he could still harm him if he tried striking him with that sword.

 _Elsewhere in Vale..._

Kakashi attacked first, attempting to strike Kabuto with Chidori.

He succeeded.

However, he quickly noticed that the burn marks Kabuto received were starting to heal.

He then remembered that Kabuto happened to be a medical ninja.

It seemed like he had mastered a regenerative ability.

If so, he was going to be difficult to wound.

Strangely, he seemed to be using a chakra scalpel as a weapon, even though it was reserved for surgery.

Even so, he seemed rather effective at using it as a weapon, so it would be best if he stayed on his guard.

On the lighter side, it seemed like he was capable of resisting Kabuto's genjutsu. It didn't make him fall asleep like many of the audience members that were watching the exams.

It would wear off...eventually, but it still provided the White Fang with a significant advantage.

Kakashi decided to try attacking Kabuto with taijutsu.

This was effective, since taijutsu was not Kabuto's speciality.

Even so, he proved himself to have rather fast reflexes.

And to make matters worse, Kabuto had a nasty trick up his sleeve.

As Kakashi attempted to strike Kabuto with another Chidori, he suddenly burst into acid.

Luckily, he was able to avoid most of it, but it still gave his arm first-degree burns.

"So...not only can he create clones of himself...he can use them to scald his enemies when they are struck..." noted Kakashi.

Perhaps it would be best to try to use his Sharingan to distinguish the clones from the real Kabuto. He did not want to end up taking an acid bath.

 _Meanwhile..._

Weiss continued to make her way towards Rock Lee.

She only hoped that she could reach him in time.

She wasn't sure how she could live without him, even if she found his flirting to be annoying sometimes. She thought of him as a brother, not as a lover.

Although, he was much more preferable than her actual brother. He was such a pain...though not as much of a pain as her father himself.

She could hear sounds of fighting from a distance.

However, she didn't hear Rock Lee's voice.

Where was he?

Hopefully he hadn't gone too far.

Curious, she noticed a toad lying on a tree branch.

"Excuse me, do you know where Rock Lee was?" asked Weiss.

The toad pointed to the north.

"Thanks..." said Weiss.

Weiss made her way towards the north.

Now that she thought of it, didn't they say that Gaara was headed to Atlas.

If so, heading north DID seem like a good idea.

To be honest, part of Weiss wished to explore Atlas. Her father hardly ever allowed her to leave the house.

But she supposed that could wait another time.

 _Meanwhile..._

Kurenai had to admit, she never thought she would face against a commander of the White Fang of all people. Of course, Orochimaru was also a commander of the White Fang.

But here she was, fighting Orochimaru's chief enforcer.

Curious, she noticed that every time she struck him, Adam's sword started to glow.

It then occurred to her that perhaps Adam was charging for an attack.

Perhaps it would be best if she started defending.

So, she formed a shield around herself.

That shield in question was a flower bud.

It was a good move, because at that moment, Adam swung his sword.

It left a slash mark on the right side of the bud, so it appeared that Adam was a strong fighter.

Kurenai noted it would be a good idea to keep an eye on that weapon of his.

Sure enough, Adam's sword was no longer growing red for the time being.

He noted that it was unfortunate that Kurenai knew about his ability to store chakra in his blade and then unleash it upon his enemies. He had used it to kill many humans attacking him in the past, usually those that hated Faunus.

It was pretty useful, but not so useful if his opponent knew about it beforehand.

Kurenai attacked Adam by launching several vines at him.

These vines were covered with thorns.

Adam quickly cut his way through them, but one of them pierced his ankle, causing him to grimace.

Kurenai then followed by summoning a waterfall to crush Adam.

However, he left out of the way in time.

"Something tells me that destroying what Blake holds dear might be a challenge." noted Adam. She had a powerful jonin instructor for one thing.

He also heard that her father was a mighty warrior as well. Assassinating him was going to be quite a challenge. It was unfortunate that he had chosen not to join the White Fang. He decided that he was going to try to make peace with the humans, as futile as Adam thought that was.

Still, he wasn't willing to let Blake get away with deserting the White Fang so easily. She was a traitor and would be punished as such. Besides, he didn't want anyone trying to take revenge on him once he executed Blake.

Using a jutsu and some fire dust, Adam surrounded his sword with fire.

This made dealing with Kurenai's plant summons that much easier.

She realized that she was going to have to change tactics.

She wasn't willing to die here. She dreaded to imagine what would happen if Adam got his revenge on Blake. It wouldn't be pretty, that was for certain.

 _I figured I would have Rock Lee put up a fight against Gaara instead of him simply ending up in distress like Sakura did. I figured it would be more entertaining that way._

 _I could have made Gaara face Naruto like he did in canon but I figured I would do something more original since this was a crossover fanfic._

 _And yes, I decided to include a Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference in my fanfic. I thought that would be funny._

 _I thought it would be appropriate for Kabuto to use acid since he experiments on people and he works for a serial killer. His arsenal is a bit more versatile this way._

 _As a side note, Adam's ability to use his enemy's aura against them is similar to Kisame's ability to absorb chakra. And yes, I decided not to change his personality too much from canon, though I will admit that I'm somewhat of an idealist. He is loyal to Orochimaru though unlike Kabuto whose loyalty is more ambiguous. I guess that's a bit of a contrast between them in my fanfic, wouldn't you say?_

 _I hope you liked this chapter. Peace!_


	29. Chapter 29: Sand vs Snow

_In this chapter, Gaara is going to fight Weiss. And yes, it's an elemental battle. Speaking of elemental battles, Yang is up against Temari. Who do you think will win? Also, Pyrrha is up against Kankuro. Unfortunately for him, his puppets are armed with metal weaponry. Not particularly helpful against someone with magnetic powers like Pyrrha._

 _Who do you think will win? Sand or snow? Place your bets!_

 **Chapter 29: Sand vs Snow**

In the forest, Ruby's older sister was still fighting with the oldest child of the Fourth Kazekage's children.

Yang continued launching fireballs at Temari, but she blocked them with her fan.

Temari decided that maybe it was time to start opening it.

She opened the fan revealing two moons.

Yang remembered her opening the fan during her fight with Sun.

She got the feeling that the fight was about to become more difficult.

And indeed it was. The wind Temari was producing from her fan was more powerful.

On the lighter side of things, her semblance was starting to kick in. A faint yellow aura surrounded her. And yes, yellow just so happened to be her favorite color.

The more damage she took, the stronger she became. Of course, there was a limit to just how much damage she could take like all the other ninja, but it was still very useful to have.

Temari launched a tornado at Yang, but she tossed a fireball at it, causing the tornado to disappear.

She decided to try summoning Kamatari. A summon was always useful to have.

"Yes?" asked Kamatari.

"I'm dealing with a blonde that likes to play with fire..." explained Temari. Incidentally, one of Yang's teammates was also a blonde.

Currently, he was fighting against a robot that had gone from being innocent to being a killer. It was an uphill battle, unfortunately for him.

"I wish Kakashi was here to save me right about now!" exclaimed Naruto.

However, though Kakashi was nowhere near him, Ruby happened to be nearby.

She was cutting through robots with her scythe.

Back inside the forest, Temari was still conversing with Kamatari.

"I see..." nodded the one-eyed weasel.

"I would appreciate your assistance." said the kunoichi.

Kamitari nodded and lunged towards Yang.

"Well, this doesn't look good." noted the blonde.

As the weasel lunged towards Yang, he began to slash using his sword.

Yang ended up being slashed several different times, causing her to gasp.

However, she wasn't inclined to give up just that.

"Alright. Two can play your game, Temari!" exclaimed Yang.

Yang pressed her hand on the ground, and ended up summoning a bear.

"A bear?" questioned Temari.

"I figured I would make a contract with one of these...people kept comparing me to Goldilocks." noted Yang.

"I can see why." answered the kunoichi.

"I call him Teddy." said the blonde.

"Very funny." stated Temari.

Yang ordered Teddy to attack Kamitari.

Unfortunately for Kamitari, typically a bear was much stronger than a weasel.

Kamitari found himself being clawed and bitten.

"Take it easy! How do you think I lost my eye?" asked Kamitari.

"I'm just defending my young like all the other bears...though in this case she's more honorary..." stated the bear.

He tried slashing Teddy, but it also seemed that Teddy was rather resilient. The blades were only grazing him.

Temari noted that now might be a good time to open her fan all the way.

She wasn't exactly looking forward to being mauled by a bear.

So, she decided to do just that.

"She's opening her fan all the way? She must be feeling the pressure." noted Yang.

Temari swung her fan, and destructive gusts of wind began to attack Yang and Teddy.

"Ugh, now I know how those three little pigs feel..." remarked the bear.

"You can talk?" asked Yang.

"Of course I can. Remnant is full of talking animals!" exclaimed Teddy.

"Zwei and Akamaru can't talk..." said the blonde.

"They must feel left out. Then again, silence is golden...like your hair." stated the bear.

"Yep. It's my pride and joy." answered Yang.

Suddenly, the wind messed up Yang's hair.

Her eyes turned red.

"How dare you!" exclaimed Yang.

"You seem a little self-absorbed..." noted Temari.

Suddenly, a yellow fiery aura surrounded the blonde.

"Uh-oh..." thought the kunoichi.

Yang punched Temari as hard as she could.

She then launched several fireballs at her.

Temari passed out on the ground, shocked that she had lost to a mere genin.

Although...even though Kabuto was technically a genin, he seemed about as strong as Adam Taurus himself. Maybe there was no shame in losing to a genin.

Kamitari disappeared, not wanting to share the same fate as Yang.

"I won! Well, time to make like a bear and hibernate..." noted Yang. She was feeling worn out.

Yang and Teddy fell asleep.

 _Meanwhile..._

Kankuro tried attacking Pyrrha with poison gas, since for some strange reason metal weapons weren't working.

However, Pyrrha had a way to counter that as well.

She spun her spear around and summoned a tornado.

This tornado ended up blowing the gas away, making Kankuro trying to poison Pyrrha futile.

He noted that he was glad that he and his sister weren't enemies. She could likely blow away his weapons as well as the gas.

"No wonder they call her the invincible warrior..." stated Kankuro. He couldn't hurt her as well. And here he had been, complaining about his last opponent not being a challenge.

He should have been more careful about what he wished for.

And to make matters worse, Pyrrha had jabbed her spear in the ground, creating a fissure.

Rocks emerged from the fissure...and destroyed Kankuro's Crow puppet.

Kankuro gasped in shock.

"You know, if you're willing to surrender, we are willing to take prisoners of war. I'm not sure about the White Fang though..." noted Pyrrha. Adam didn't take failure too well.

At this point, the puppet master wasn't sure what to do. If he tried retreating...well, chances are Pyrrha could throw that spear like a javelin.

How was she getting past all his weapons?

He then recalled her using both Wind and Earth Release jutsus. I then occurred to him that perhaps Pyrrha had...Magnet Release.

That wouldn't be an explanation as to what was happening, would it? He recalled the Third Kazekage having Magnet Release. Perhaps other ninja could have it even if they WEREN'T from Atlas.

The more he thought of it, the more it made sense. It seemed like the opponents that Pyrrha had gone up against had tried using metal weapons against her, which was futile.

But if Pyrrha had Magnet Release, how was he going to get past it?

He then remembered that he had a spare puppet known as Black Ant. As it turned out, it had occurred to him that Crow might get damaged and even destroyed in the middle of a fight.

So he had decided to bring a spare with him. Unlike Crow, it was designed for defense.

However, it did have wooden arms that were capable of bludgeoning an enemy.

Wait...wooden arms...

Suddenly, he had an idea.

"I have to admit, you're a pretty good fighter." stated Kankuro.

Pyrrha rubbed her hand behind her head humbly.

Kankuro pulled out Black Ant.

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.

"Too bad your polarity won't save you this time." stated Kankuro.

"What?" asked the kunoichi.

Suddenly, Kankuro lunged at Pyrrha with Black Ant, using its wooden arms to pummel Pyrrha.

Pyrrha attempted to use her polarity to knock the arms away, only to find herself being punched into a tree for her trouble.

She wondered what was going on.

It then occurred to her what was happening.

"This isn't good...he must have realized the secret of my apparent invincibility...now he's using weapons that AREN'T magnetic against me..." noted Pyrrha. She may be capable of manipulating metal (even if the metal wasn't normally magnetic like aluminum), but wood was a whole different story.

It looks like she was going to have to use her shield to defend herself instead.

So, she did, using her shield to prevent the fists of Black Ant from striking her.

"Well, at least I managed to find a way past her polarity...but how am I going to get past her shield?" questioned Kankuro.

Suddenly, he noticed that one of Pyrrha's heels was wide exposed.

Kankuro shrugged and had the Black Ant grab on.

"Wha-" said Pyrrha.

He then launched Pyrrha into the air, causing her to gasp.

Kankuro smirked. Now he had Pyrrha right where he wanted her.

He proceeded to launch a heat-seeking missile at Pyrrha. Penny suggested that he included it in one of his puppets, so he figured why not.

The missile hit Pyrrha and exploded.

She collapsed on the ground, leaving behind a crater.

Kankuro smirked. It had been a tough fight, but he managed to win at the end.

However, just when he was about to leave, he noticed Pyrrha reaching for her shield.

She tossed it at Kankuro.

Fortunately for him, he ducked underneath it.

"Huh. She still has some fight in her..." noted the puppet master.

However, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was forgetting something important.

What was it?

Suddenly, the shield struck him in the back of the head.

Kankuro screeched in pain.

Oh, that was right. Since she had magnetism she could use it to change the direction of her weapons in midair.

He passed out on the ground.

Pyrrha sighed in relief. Kankuro might very well be the strongest opponent that she had met. It had been a close fight.

Well, at least she didn't have to worry as much about people becoming jealous of her. Some people acted like that.

Pyrrha lied against a tree and began to rest.

Hopefully Weiss could rescue Rock Lee in time.

 _Meanwhile..._

Unfortunately for Rock Lee, though it seemed like they were evenly matched at first, it became apparent to him that now that Gaara was transforming into a monster, the battle was turning into an uphill one.

It looked as if it was time to open his gates. Granted, opening gates could be harmful to his health, but considering that he was up against a bloodthirsty ninja, it seemed like a good time.

So, he decided to open the first of his gates.

Gaara wondered what Rock Lee was doing.

He seemed to be becoming...stronger.

Now that Rock Lee had opened the first of the eight gates, he could now use the Front Locus technique, launching Gaara into the air and pile-driving him into the ground.

He used it to attack Gaara, causing some of the sand on his face to begin to fall on the ground.

The sand ninja noted that it was a powerful technique.

However, Rock Lee stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

It seemed that using that technique costed him a lot of chakra.

It occurred to him that maybe instead of fighting offensively, he should try fighting defensively instead. As satisfying as it felt attacking Rock Lee, chances are he would wear himself down if he continued shielding himself with his sand.

Of course, his Sand Armor costed a lot of chakra like the eight gates did, but at least he didn't have to worry about damaging his body...quite the opposite in fact. It was a defensive technique.

Rock Lee tried striking Gaara with the Front Lotus again, but this time he was better prepared. He needed to try a different tactic.

He opened another gate.

However, one of his arms was starting to feel sore.

Still, he kept fighting.

This time, Rock Lee hit one of Gaara's arms.

However, the arm began to regenerate.

Gaara swung the arm at Rock Lee, sending him flying.

Rock Lee quickly activated the third gate, causing his skin to turn red.

He then struck Gaara with the Reverse Lotus.

Gaara avoided it, but barely.

He then smiled when he noticed Rock Lee was grimacing.

"I can't keep the gates open much longer..." noted Rock Lee.

At this rate, he was going to have to go to the ninja hospital.

But for the sake of Vale, he was going to keep fighting, even if he had to open more of the gates.

So, he decided to open the fourth one.

It reminded him of the chakra pills that the Akimichi clan used in drastic situations. Incidentally, it turned his skin red and one of the pills happened to be chili-flavored. They said that the red pill made it feel like you were burning.

Rock Lee continued attacking Gaara.

However, it wasn't long until he found himself having a hard time moving.

"Ugh...I feel awful..." stated Rock Lee.

At this point, Rock Lee began to feel rather weak.

It seemed that he had used up most of his chakra.

Rock Lee fell on the ground.

Gaara smirked. It looked like fighting defensively against someone like Rock Lee WAS a good idea after all.

 **"Finish him, won't you? I'm sure you want revenge on him for making you bleed..."** asked Shukaku.

Gaara nodded. Payback would be nice.

He prepared to crush him with his transformed palm.

However, at that very moment, something unexpected happened.

He noticed that there was someone approaching him.

That person looked familiar.

His eyes then widened in surprise.

It was the same girl who had helped him against the two chunin that were trying to force him to throw the match.

Weiss quickly grabbed Rock Lee so that Gaara wouldn't hurt him.

"Thank goodness I made it in time...w-what is that?" asked Weiss.

"It's Gaara...he's transforming into a monster..." noted Rock Lee.

"Well, that's what people kept portraying him as...I guess it went to his head..." questioned the white-haired girl.

Rock Lee nodded. His childhood wasn't that great now that he thought of it. Thank goodness Might Guy came into the picture.

 **"Another one? Let's kill her as well!"** exclaimed Shukaku.

"I don't think I should bite the hand that feeds me..." thought Gaara.

 **"You're no fun..."** stated the one-tailed beast.

"I suggest you leave if I were you..." answered the sand ninja.

"That...might be good advice." noted Weiss. She wasn't sure if she could take him on.

Although, she was feeling pretty strong after training with Jiraiya. He had taught her well though it would be some time before she was anywhere near his caliber.

Still, she didn't want to take risks.

However, just as she was about to leave, Gaara suddenly grabbed Rock Lee.

"What are you doing!?" exclaimed Weiss.

"His life is forfeit I'm afraid. The beast must satiate its hunger." explained Gaara.

Shukaku smiled. He might not be willing to kill the girl but at least he was willing to kill the boy.

He pressed Rock Lee against a tree with his left transformed palm.

Weiss raised her sword.

"I can't let you do that, Gaara." said Weiss.

Gaara raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, Weiss lunged towards Gaara with her sword.

Caught by surprise, Gaara was just barely capable of launching sand to knock her away.

However, Weiss ended up launching snow at him.

It seemed that Gaara wasn't the only one that could control a specific element.

He quickly blocked the snow with his sand.

He then began to encase Weiss in sand as well.

 **"Yes! Bind her! Then crush her and spill her blood throughout the forest!"** exclaimed Shukaku.

"But-"

"Do it!" shouted the one-tailed beast.

Reluctantly, Gaara attempted to kill Weiss with the Sand Waterfall Technique.

For a moment, it seemed that it had worked.

However, instead of blood, it ended up raining snow instead.

"Snow?" questioned Gaara.

As it turned out, Weiss had countered Gaara's Sand Binding Coffin with a snow clone.

As Gaara wondered what was going on, he found himself being attacked from behind.

The real Weiss attacked Gaara's lower half. Since it wasn't transformed like his upper half, attacking it seemed like a good idea.

Gaara screeched.

Unfortunately for him, she had found his weak point.

At that very moment, Gaara removed his left arm by Rock Lee, leaving behind a hand made of sand to make sure Rock Lee wouldn't make a hasty getaway.

He then grabbed onto Weiss and pinned her against another tree.

However, Weiss pressed her hand against the tree and summoned the sword of an Arma Gigas.

The Arma Gigas sliced off Gaara's transformed right arm, forcing him to regenerate it.

However, when Weiss attempted to attack Gaara's lower half again, he used his left arm to defend it.

Maybe she should try summoning again.

Perhaps she could summon a toad? That's probably what Jiraiya would do, though admittedly they didn't always see eye to eye. He was lecherous.

Weiss pressed her hand against the ground...

...but instead of a large toad like she had hoped, she only summoned a small one.

Weiss facepalmed.

His name was Gamakichi. He wore a coat and was orange.

"Huh? Where am I? I was dozing on a lily pad...oh, hey Weiss!" stated Gamakichi.

"How do you know my name?" asked Weiss.

Gamakichi noted that he was in a forest.

"Well, al least there's a nice view here. Wait, is that some sort of monster? AAAH!" screamed the toad.

 **"Want to make some frog legs?"** asked Shukaku.

"Um, I think that's a toad. Its legs aren't too big." noted Gaara.

 **"Whatever! Just kill it already!"** demanded the one-tailed beast.

Shukaku attempted to attack Gamakichi, launching sand bullets at him.

However, Weiss wouldn't allow that.

She blocked the bullets with an ice wall.

"This isn't a biology class! Leave him alone!" demanded Weiss.

"Thanks! For a moment there I thought I was a goner..." answered Gamakichi.

"If you want you could go back to your swamp...I bet you would be safe there." answered the kunoichi.

"After you saved my life? No way! I'm staying with you!" exclaimed the toad.

"You're one loyal amphibian...how are you going to fight him though? He's a lot bigger than you." pointed out Weiss.

"I suppose I could distract him..." answered Gamikiichi.

Since Gaara had a weak point that she could exploit, that seemed like a good idea.

"Why not? Just try not to get hurt out there." stated Weiss.

Gamikichi nodded, and splashed Gaara with water from his mouth.

Angered, Gaara attempted to crush Gamikichi with his transformed hand.

However, Gamikichi kept leaping out of the way.

"Bet you can't hit me!" exclaimed Gamakichi.

Gaara attempted to prove the small toad wrong.

However, he was a difficult target to hit.

It then occurred to him that he was forgetting something.

He wasn't sure what.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain around his leg.

Weiss had attacked his lower half again.

His transformed left arm began to dissolve.

He was in a bind.

Becoming desperate, Gaara decided to draw power from Shukaku to create a tidal wave of sand, at the risk of losing control over the tailed beast.

"Weiss, there's a sand tsunami approaching!" exclaimed Gamakichi.

Weiss gasped.

Frantically, she attempted to use her snow to counter it.

The results were surprising.

An avalanche suddenly began to approach Gaara.

"What?" asked Gaara.

And to make matters worse for him, the avalanche was overcoming his sand tsunami.

He screeched as he was buried alive by the avalanche.

"Did you get him?" inquired Gamakichi.

"I hope." answered Weiss.

Either way, she was going to try to save Rock Lee.

Quickly, she cut away the sand that was constricting him.

Rock Lee woke up.

"What happened? Where's Gaara?" asked the martial artist.

"I put him...on ice." answered Weiss.

"I see...it's a shame really. If it weren't for his horrible father, he probably could have been a good person." noted Rock Lee.

Weiss nodded.

Rock Lee immediately began to head back to Vale.

"Do you need me to carry you? Something told me that you used your gates..." noted Weiss.

"I'll manage." answered the martial artist.

Just in case, Weiss decided to follow him...

...when she began to hear something.

"Huh?" asked Weiss.

At that very moment, an enormous hand of sand burst from the ice.

Weiss gasped in shock.

"He's still alive?" questioned Gamakichi.

 **"Darn right."** retorted Shukaku.

This was followed by an enormous tail.

As it turned out, Gaara had created a copy of Shukaku.

It wasn't as strong as the original, luckily, but it was still very powerful.

Also, it was colossal.

Gradually, the copy of Shukaku burst from the snow.

Weiss noted that she was in a lot of trouble.

"How am I supposed to take on something that big?" thought Weiss.

 _Since someone requested I don't put so many characters in one chapter, I decided not to include so many this time. I mainly stuck with the Sand Siblings and the people that were fighting them...plus Weiss who thankfully rescued Rock Lee in time._

 _I figured that since Yang was inspired by Goldilocks and the Three Bears I figured having a bear summon would be appropriate. She probably hugs like one too since she's strong._

 _Kankuro did surprisingly well against the "invincible warrior", I must admit. Who would have thought that he would bring Pyrrha to her knees? Then again, he did stomp Kin._

 _And yes, I had Rock Lee use the eight gates this time since he was up against a dangerous psychopath. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to defeat Gaara before the gates wore away at his body. Good thing Weiss was looking for him, am I right?_

 _However, now that Weiss has saved Rock Lee, the question is: how is she going to save herself?_

 _You can only hope that she can think of something._

 _See ya!_


	30. Chapter 30: Death Of A Hokage

_This chapter is going to be sad. I'm sorry if I'm going to make you cry._

 _But on the lighter side of things, we're going to get to see if Weiss can get through to Gaara like Naruto did in canon. Like Naruto, he and Weiss are a lot alike._

 _Ruby is going to try to do the same with Penny. It's a good thing that they're friends...right?_

 **Chapter 30: Death Of A Hokage**

Unfortunately for Naruto, he wasn't sure how he was going to take down Penny.

It seemed like Atlas had spent a lot of money on Penny, because she had many different weapons.

Nearby, General Ironwood and Penny's father were watching.

"I have to admit, Penny is one heck of a weapon..." noted General Ironwood.

"But I never intended for her to be a weapon." answered Dr. Argent.

"If you didn't intend for her to be a weapon, why did you give her so many?" inquired the general.

"Those were for defense." stated the scientist.

"OK..." answered the general.

Since Penny was capable of flight thanks to her jetpack, trying to use taijutsu wasn't going to be effective.

He wondered if this was going to be the end for him.

Well, at least he wouldn't have to worry about the nine-tailed fox attacking the village. Sometimes he's had nightmares regarding that.

However, at that very moment, a friend of his approached him.

"Ruby?" asked Naruto.

"Penny? What are you doing?" inquired Ruby.

Penny raised an eyebrow. Did she know this girl?

"Why are you attacking Vale? I thought you liked it here!" exclaimed Ruby.

Penny scratched her head.

"What's going on?" asked General Ironwood.

"I'm not sure..." answered Dr. Argent.

"Aren't we friends?" asked Ruby.

At that very moment, Penny started to turn from red to green.

It seemed that Adam Taurus's brainwashing of her was wearing off.

"What's going on?" asked Penny.

"I think you were under some sort of control." answered Ruby.

"You were attacking Vale ninja..." stated Naruto.

Penny noted that made sense.

Suddenly, she remembered that she had something important that she wished to tell General Ironwood.

She flew to where he was.

"Penny?" asked Dr. Argent.

"I've got something very important to tell you!" exclaimed Penny.

"Yes?" asked General Ironwood.

Penny played a video of Orochimaru killing the Fourth Kazekage.

"What? Orochimaru killed the Fourth Kazekage?!" exclaimed General Ironwood.

Penny nodded.

"Well, that changes everything." stated the general.

He pressed a button, and suddenly, instead of his robots attacking the Vale ninja, he programmed them to attack the White Fang instead.

The White Fang were baffled to find the robots suddenly turning on them.

Likewise, he sent a message to the sand ninja as well regarding what had happened.

They turned on the White Fang as well.

It looked as if the White Fang were outnumbered.

 _Meanwhile..._

"What are we supposed to do? I thought up until now that tanukis were cute and cuddly!" asked Gamakichi.

"Not this one." answered Weiss. Then again, perhaps like Gaara, it wasn't always evil.

Currently, Gaara was charging up wind in his now enormous mouth.

Personally he thought that he at least owed Weiss a swift death for sparing his life, but Shukaku had insisted that he do it slowly for dramatic tension.

Personally, he thought that it was a bad idea to telegraph his attacks. Weiss was kind of...fast.

Curious, Weiss looked at Gamakichi.

"What? Do I have a wart on my face?" asked the toad.

"You're a toad. Of course you have warts on your face...but I had a different idea." stated Weiss.

Weiss pressed her hand against the ground.

"If at first you don't succeed..." said the ice ninja.

This time, she summoned Gamabunta, as she had originally intended.

"Try, try again I suppose." noted Weiss.

Perhaps her situation hadn't been drastic enough to summon Gamabunta up until now. Granted, Gaara was transforming into a monster...but her snow was a good counter for his sand now that she thought of it.

Either way, she had found a way to level the playing field.

Gaara stopped charging the wind in surprise.

"Is it just me, or does my opponent have a counter for everything I do?" asked Gaara.

"Yes? What is it?" inquired Gamabunta.

"I'm being attacked by a giant monster..." answered Weiss.

"A giant monster? Can't it be something easier to deal with?" questioned the giant toad.

Gamabunta looked at Shukaku.

"Wait, you want me to deal with the one-tailed beast? Are you insane?" asked the giant toad.

"Well, I don't think I can take on a creature of that size alone." answered Weiss.

"This is a suicide mission! Count me out!" exclaimed Gamabunta.

"Aww, don't be like that, pops!" shouted Gamakichi.

"Gamakichi? What are you doing here? I thought you were still at the swamp..." stated the giant toad.

"Wait, you're Gamabunta's son?" inquired Weiss.

"Surprised?" asked Gamakichi.

"Not really. You two look a lot alike...other than the size of course." answered the ice ninja.

"See that giant tanuki over there? He tried to kill me!" exclaimed the small toad.

"He did?" asked Gamabunta.

"Yeah! Luckily Weiss here saved me!" exclaimed Gamakichi.

"She saved you?" inquired the giant toad.

"She sure did! She's a heroine!" shouted the smaller toad.

"Well then, I guess that changes everything." answered Gamabunta.

Gamabunta pulled out his sword.

"You know, I just noticed something. Something funny." said Gamakichi.

"What is it?" asked Weiss.

"You wield a sword and have a scar over your left eye...just like my dad!" exclaimed the red toad.

"Really? Huh, I guess that is kind of funny." stated the swordswoman.

Gamabunta lunged towards Gaara, and began slashing him with his sword.

Gaara tried to counter by expelling wind from his mouth, but Gamabunta countered by spewing water from his mouth. The two attacks cancelled each other out.

However, some of the water ended up being splashed on Gaara. It seemed that Gamabunta's powerful water techniques were capable of washing his sand away.

He wondered what he should do.

It looked as if he had no other choice.

Immediately, he activated his Playing Possum Jutsu.

Gaara fell asleep.

Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Why did Gaara fall asleep?" asked Weiss.

"Yeah! He's in the middle of a fight!" exclaimed Gamakichi.

"This seems like something Shikamaru would do...but not Gaara. In fact, it doesn't seem like he sleeps at all." noted the ice ninja.

"There's a very good reason for that." answered Gamabunta.

"What?" asked Weiss.

"Your opponent happens to have the one-tailed beast living inside of him. In order to prevent yourself from being possessed by Shukaku, one must make sure that you stay awake at all times." stated the toad.

"So, now that Gaara's asleep...then that means...oh god." answered the ice ninja.

"Shukaku is awake." answered Gamabunta.

At that very moment, Shukaku let out a triumphant laugh.

"Finally! I'm free! I've waited forever for this!" exclaimed Shukaku. It looked like all his years of waiting had finally paid off.

"This isn't going to end well for Vale..." answered Weiss. Was anyone going to survive?

"Well, I think it's about time for me to look for the nearest civilization..." noted the one-tailed beast.

"You know, the tailed beasts remind me of Grimm...I don't think anyone has ever tried sealing a Grimm inside of someone though." noted the white-haired girl. The sheer evil would probably overwhelm them.

Suddenly, Shukaku noticed Gamabunta.

"What's this?" questioned Shukaku.

He licked his lips.

"It looks like I'm going to be feasting on toad legs today!" exclaimed the tanuki.

Shukaku lunged towards Gamabunta, who countered by slashing Shukaku.

However, Shukaku launched a gust of wind from his mouth at Gamabunta.

He was knocked backwards.

"You think that you can beat me? One of the tailed beasts? Surely you're mistaken." stated Shukaku.

He then proceeded to claw Gamabunta in the face.

"Man, that is one tough tanuki! How do you think we can stop it, pops?" asked Gamakichi.

"I'm thinking." answered Gamabunta.

Suddenly, Weiss thought of something.

"Wait...if Shukaku takes control of Gaara whenever he sleeps...what would happen if he woke him up?" asked Weiss.

"That's a good idea! But how do we do that?" inquired Gamakichi.

"Well, now seems as good of a time as any to vent my frustrations with my father." answered the huntress. She was surprised that he hadn't disinherited her yet simply because she chose to be a huntress against his wishes. What was wrong with protecting her home?

"I feel bad for you..." noted the smaller toad. It was a good thing that his father was loving or he would have had a bad childhood as a tadpole.

"Cover your ears! Toads have ears, right?" asked Weiss.

"Yes, we do." nodded Gamabunta.

Gamabunta and Gamakichi covered their ears.

Shortly afterwards, Weiss let out an enormous scream.

It was so loud that several birds were flying away.

Although, considering that there was a giant tanuki attacking, they were probably already planning on flying away in the first place.

Shukaku found this amusing, unaware as to what Weiss was planning.

"Hahahaha! It's so delightful to hear someone screaming!" exclaimed Shukaku.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of someone yawning.

"Wait, whose yawning?" asked the tanuki.

Shukaku looked up, and discovered that it was Gaara, who was waking up from his slumber.

"What? No no no no no!" exclaimed Shukaku.

As soon as Gaara woke up, Shukaku began to lose his control over him.

"Oh c'mon! I just got here!" shouted the one-tailed beast.

"Sorry, Shukaku, it's already Bedlam in Vale as it is." answered Weiss.

Shukaku lost control of Gaara, and Gaara began to look around.

"What happened? I thought I let Shukaku take control of me...I didn't really see any other option at that point." noted Gaara.

He then realized that he had woken up. His eyes widened in surprise.

"I woke up? I must cast the Playing Possum technique again immediately!" he thought.

However, just as he was about to prepare the jutsu once again, he suddenly noticed that there were strange glyphs in the sky.

He wondered where they had come from.

At that very moment, Weiss approached him with her sword, using the glyphs as stepping stones.

It looked like he had gotten his answer.

Gaara gasped and quickly attempted to prevent Weiss from approaching her with his sand.

He successfully grabbed her just as she was about to stab him with her blade.

However, Weiss was not so inclined to give up, and the blade slowly moved towards him.

"No...more...bloodshed!" exclaimed Weiss.

Weiss stabbed Gaara in the stomach, causing him to screech.

Shortly afterwards, his life-size replica of Shukaku began to crumble into sand.

Weiss and Gaara began to fall.

Luckily for Weiss, she landed on a tree branch.

Unluckily for Gaara, he crashed straight into the ground.

"Ugh..." said Gaara.

Fortunately, his tailed beast had healed his stomach wound.

However, he had completely run out of chakra.

Spotting Gaara, Weiss approached him with her sword.

"You think she can handle things from here?" asked Gamakichi.

Gamabunta nodded.

"Alright. Time to head home!" exclaimed the small toad.

Gamakichi and Gamabunta burst into smoke.

"How did I lose? My father said that I was an unstoppable weapon!" exclaimed Gaara.

"Personally I don't think you should have listened to your father." answered Weiss.

Gaara decided to face death with dignity. Besides, it seemed like everyone wanted him dead.

"Go ahead! Finish me! Slay the beast!" shouted the sand ninja,.

 **"What? No no no no!"** exclaimed Shukaku.

Weiss thought about this for a moment, but she decided not to. Personally she wondered why the two of them were fighting. They were alike in many ways, though Gaara hadn't realized it yet.

She put her sword away.

"You're not going to kill me?" asked Gaara with confusion.

Shukaku sighed in relief.

"You're no beast, Gaara. You're just a tortured soul, I can see that." answered Weiss.

"You must be so fortunate, being the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. I bet you must be extremely popular." noted Gaara.

"How I wish that were true." stated the heiress.

"What?" asked the sand ninja.

Weiss flashbacked to her childhood.

 _"Look! It's that Schnee girl!" exclaimed a Faunus kid._

 _The Faunus began to throw tomatoes and other rotten produce at her._

 _It was humiliating._

 _Weiss was forced to shield herself using the lid of a trash can._

 _"I feel so alone..." thought Weiss._

 _Unfortunately for Weiss, the Schnee Dust Company had a very bad reputation amongst the Faunus._

"Not only did the Faunus hate me, but none of the humans seemed to know that I existed. My father hardly ever let me leave the mansion. Apparently, he doesn't want me more than five feet away from him." noted Weiss. He was so possessive.

Gaara then flashbacked to the time that he had been mistreated by humans. Of course, it was a bit different from Weiss's childhood since the Faunus couldn't discriminate against anyone without seeming like hypocrites, but it was still similar regardless.

 _"Excuse me, do you know where the ninja academy is?" asked Gaara._

 _"Get away from me, you monster!" answered the ninja instructor he was asking directions._

 _He shoved Gaara away, causing him to fall down on his keister._

 _Gaara frowned._

 _It seemed like every day that people spent their lives running away from him._

 _And to make matters worse, not even his family seemed to want to spend time with him._

 _"I feel so alone..." thought Gaara._

"I'm feeling a sense of deja vu..." noted Gaara.

"Regardless of that, I did manage to make friends...eventually." answered Weiss.

"But nobody wants to be my friend..." answered the sand ninja.

"I'll be your friend." stated the white-haired swordswoman.

"You will?" asked Gaara.

Weiss nodded.

"Just one condition..." answered the icy huntress.

"Yes?" asked Gaara.

"Don't-mess-with-my-friends. Are we clear?" inquired Weiss loudly.

Gaara nodded. That seemed reasonable.

"Good. Since we both have terrible fathers, I don't think we should listen to them if they tell us not to be friends. So let's not let them get in the way of our new friendship." stated Weiss.

Gaara nodded once again.

He and Weiss shook hands.

As he did so, Weiss pulled out a rag.

"Let me get that for you." said Weiss.

Weiss erased the mark on Gaara's forehead.

At that very moment, Kankuro and Temari approached Gaara.

"Leave him alone!" exclaimed Temari.

Gaara was surprised that his siblings were coming to his aid.

Although...perhaps his father had told them not to hang out with him. He had discouraged him from going out in public in general. He thought that Gaara was nothing more than a monster...as well as a weapon.

Gaara decided to instruct them not to harm Weiss.

"Not to worry. Everything is fine." stated Gaara.

"Really?" asked Kankuro.

"Mm-hmm." nodded the sand ninja.

"Never mind then. It's time for us to go home." answered the puppet master.

"And see my father?" inquired Gaara sadly.

"He's dead, actually. They say that Orochimaru killed him." stated Temari.

Weiss and Gaara sighed with relief. Perhaps it was better than he was gone.

Although, something told them that Atlas was going to plot their revenge against Orochimaru.

Speaking of Orochimaru, where was he?

 _Meanwhile..._

As the Third Hokage fought off his two former teachers, he noticed something odd.

Whenever he struck one of the Hokages that Orochimaru was controlling, they seemed to regenerate.

He tried detonating paper bombs.

That only confirmed his theory.

"They're immortal!" exclaimed the Third Hokage.

"Of course they're immortal. You can't kill what's already dead. It's futile." answered Orochimaru.

The Third Hokage tried attacking Orochimaru instead. There was no point in attacking the 1st and 2nd Hokages.

However, the 1st and 2nd Hokages wouldn't allow him anywhere near Orochimaru.

He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Perhaps Enma was right. Maybe he SHOULD have killed Orochimaru in the first place.

Although to be fair, he had no idea at the time that Orochimaru would make an alliance with HER of all people for the sake of immortality.

SHE had ways of corrupting people and persuading them to join her side.

It looked like there was only one thing that he could do.

He decided to activate the forbidden jutsu that the Fourth Hokage had used in the past, and summon the Grim Reaper.

The Shinigami appeared, though to Orochimaru, he wasn't visible yet.

"You requested my services?" asked the Shinigami.

"Yes...I need you to return two souls to the afterlife...as well as to take one to the afterlife as well." explained the Third Hokage.

"Alright, but in exchange I shall be taking your soul. Rest assured that it will be in good hands...and I never go back on my word, on pain of...well, me." answered the reaper.

The Third Hokage nodded. Whatever saved his kingdom.

"Very well." stated the reaper.

Orochimaru wondered what was going on.

Suddenly, he noticed what appeared to be some sort of spirit attacking the 1st and the 2nd Hokage.

Both of the Hokages fell to the ground.

"What's happening?!" exclaimed Orochimaru.

As the 1st and 2nd Hokages fell, they transformed back into the two ninja that Orochimaru had used for the sacrifice.

They happened to be Kin Tsuchi and Zaku Abumi.

"You used your own subordinates for the ritual?!" exclaimed the Third Hokage.

"They weren't useful for anything else." answered Orochimaru.

"You should be ashamed of yourself." stated the 3rd Hokage.

"Well, considering that you somehow dealt with the 1st and 2nd Hokage with ease, perhaps it WAS a waste of time." said the Sannin.

Suddenly, the Third Hokage lunged towards Orochimaru.

"What are you-aaaugh!" exclaimed Orochimaru.

As it turned out, the 3rd Hokage was trying to rip his soul out of his body.

"Very good. Take away Orochimaru's soul and give it to me. I've been looking to collect his soul for quite some time." answered the Shinigami.

The 3rd Hokage nodded.

"You summoned the Shinigami!" exclaimed Orochimaru.

"As a matter of fact, I did. I figured who better to deal with someone who was already dead than Death itself?" inquired the 3rd Hokage.

"How did you even summon him?" asked the Sannin.

"Well, I had to make a deal with him in exchange. In this case, it was my soul." answered the Hokage.

"Hiruzen, you're an idiot! Can't you see you're going to kill yourself as well?" asked Orochimaru.

"Technically yes, however, the Shinigami promised me that he'll take care of my soul. On the other hand, something tells me that he intends to make you suffer." answered Hiruzen.

Orochimaru looked at the Shinigami, and much to his shock, he discovered that it was glaring right back at him.

He wondered why the Shinigami hated him.

Oh wait, that was right. He had been cheating death for years. It was only fitting that the Shinigami would be angry.

The 3rd Hokage began to rip the soul from Orochimaru's body, causing the Shinigami to smile.

"You will no longer threaten Vale, Orochimaru! It's time for me to do what I should have done...ten years ago!" exclaimed Hiruzen.

"No! You can't have my soul!" shouted Orochimaru.

Orochimaru attempted to prevent Hiruzen from taking away his soul...

...and unfortunately, he was succeeding.

The more Hiruzen struggled to take away Orochimaru's soul, the more it occurred to him how futile it was.

The Shinigami frowned. It looked as if he wouldn't be able to have Orochimaru's soul.

It was a shame. He was looking forward to getting even with him for denying him his soul for so long.

"If only you were younger and stronger..." taunted Orochimaru.

The 3rd Hokage sighed. It looked as if he wouldn't be able to take away Orochimaru's soul. He was too weak in his old age.

Wait...maybe that was it. Perhaps he didn't need to kill Orochimaru after all.

He just needed to put an end to his ninja career.

The 3rd Hokage asked the Shinigami for one more favor.

"Could you cut off the arms of Orochimaru's soul? I figure that since I can't take away his soul I would do the next best thing." requested the 3rd Hokage.

"Not a bad idea." answered the Shinigami.

The Shinigami pulled out the tanto from his mouth and used it to mutilate Orochimaru's soul.

To be honest, it was surprised that Orochimaru had a soul to begin with.

Orochimaru screeched as his arms began to rot.

"What have you done to me?" asked Orochimaru.

"Since I couldn't take your soul, I figured I would improvise. Crippling you should mitigate anything you can do to the leaf kingdom." stated the 3rd Hokage.

"Sound Four, call off the barrier!" screeched the Sannin in agony.

Frantically, the Sound Four dispelled the barrier and attempted to rescue Orochimaru, careful not to let the pursuers catch up to them.

The 3rd Hokage collapsed on the floor as the Shinigami took his soul.

"I'm sure the 1st and 2nd Hokage will appreciate your company...besides, I think they wish to apologize to you." noted the Shinigami.

The 3rd Hokage nodded. He was looking forward to seeing them again...not as enemies but as friends, like they had been in the past.

 _I noticed that Gamabunta had a scar over his left eye just like Weiss did...I thought that was amusing since I gave Weiss the ability to summon toads. I felt like referencing Princess and the Frog...only with a slightly different amphibian._

 _And yes, Weiss erasing Gaara's mark on his forehead is symbolic._

 _I didn't make the Grim Reaper as scary as he was in Naruto since I figured...why encourage Orochimaru's behavior? He's working with the RWBY equivalent of the anti-christ in this fanfic. If you're familiar with RWBY you probably already know who she is...but if not you'll be introduced to her soon._

 _In the next chapter, there's going to be a funeral._


	31. Chapter 31: Search For Tsunade

_In this chapter...well, since the 3rd Hokage is dead, it seemed like a good time to search for a new Hokage, don't you think? Of course, in the case of the 4th, the 3rd Hokage simply resumed his position. But this time it's not so simple._

 _Oh, and it won't be Ozpin. He'd rather advise Hokages than be one, it seems._

 **Chapter 31: Search For Tsunade**

Hazel continued to fight Ozpin, when suddenly he noticed Orochimaru retreating.

The White Fang were retreating as well.

It appeared that they had lost the war.

Although, it seemed like the 3rd Hokage was deceased. Maybe Ozpin would learn the pain that he felt when he lost his sister.

Hazel sighed. It looked like he was going to have to resume his quest for vengeance another day.

"We'll settle this later, Ozpin. Make no mistake about that." said Hazel.

Hazel retreated. He may be big (and remind people of a tree, especially since he had Wood Release) but he could move surprisingly fast if he wanted to.

Ozpin felt relieved. Hazel had been a strong opponent.

Unfortunately, he had prevented him from rescuing the 3rd Hokage. Then again, he probably wouldn't have been able to get past the 1st and 2nd Hokage anyway. Apparently, they were capable of regeneration. He did not have a jutsu that could return them to the afterlife.

Although...maybe he could research one.

Likewise, Adam Taurus and Kabuto decided to retreat as well.

 _Later at Otagakure..._

Orochimaru screamed in agony. Ever since his fight with the Third Hokage, he had not been feeling well at all.

In fact, he was in a lot of pain.

At this rate, he was going to die...and of course, the Shinigami would have his soul. He was not looking forward to having his soul tortured.

He could transfer his body to someone else...but he was hoping to get his hands on the Sharingan. Besides, entering another body might not completely undo the damage that the 3rd Hokage had done.

Unfortunately, Kakashi had prevented Kabuto from bringing Sasuke to him. It looked as if he had realized what Orochimaru was planning to do, other than destroy the leaf kingdom.

Surely there had to be another way.

"If it makes you feel any better, you did manage to kill the 3rd Hokage...even if the fight didn't go the way you intended..." noted Kabuto.

"True..." nodded Orochimaru.

Unfortunately, not even Kabuto's medical expertise could undo the damage that the 3rd Hokage had done. He needed to find someone that could assist him, and quickly.

Suddenly, Orochimaru's room began to darken.

"Did someone turn off the lights?" asked Kabuto.

"No. I was expecting company." answered Orochimaru.

All of a sudden, Kabuto began to feel a sense of dread.

Shortly afterward, someone opened the door.

Sweat began to protrude from his face.

As it turned out, the person who was entering the room was simply horrifying. Incidentally, she resembled the Grimm that she had created.

Her name was Salem.

"I applaud you for killing the 3rd Hokage, but unfortunately, Vale still stands. No matter. I shall schedule another attack on Vale...eventually." explained the woman.

As it turned out, Orochimaru had decided to seek immortality from someone who had lived for thousands of years. Who better to ask?

"Will I be put in charge?" asked Orochimaru.

"In your current condition, that would be a suicide mission. Therefore, I will be assigning another one of my subordinates to the task." stated Salem.

"Which one?" inquired the Sannin.

At that very moment, another woman entered the room.

Orochimaru remembered introducing her to Salem. Her name happened to be Cinder...which was appropriate since she liked to play with fire.

"I heard that you got crippled by the Third Hokage...well, at least you're still alive. It would be a shame to be killed by your own teacher after working so hard to achieve immortality." noted Cinder.

Though she didn't look evil like her mistress did, Kabuto got the feeling that she was as wicked as Orochimaru himself.

"Rest assured that I will finish what you started..." stated Cinder.

"Why does she want to destroy the leaf kingdom?" inquired Orochimaru. He had his reasons for wanting to destroy it (even if he did use to be his home) so he was curious as to why Cinder would want to destroy the kingdom.

"Well, they happen to have something that she wants...and something she claims that belongs to her." answered Salem.

"Mm-hmm." nodded Cinder.

"I also figured that since she is quite experienced with fire release techniques she would know how to deal with the leaf kingdom, since many of Vale's ninja specialize in fire." noted the Grimm's creator.

Orochimaru noted that was a good point.

However, just in case, he had Kabuto give Cinder a map of the leaf kingdom.

"This will be helpful." noted Cinder. She might not be a geography teacher but she knew that having a map of the leaf kingdom would be pretty useful for plotting an attack.

"Just in case, I will be bringing Doctor Watts with her, just like you brought Hazel with you. Of course, Hazel had volunteered on the condition that he would get to kill Ozpin. Of course, I would have preferred if Hazel brought Ozpin to me alive, but apparently he thinks simply locking Ozpin away would be too lenient." noted Salem.

"Why do you want Ozpin alive?" asked Orochimaru.

"Let's just say that you and Ozpin have more in common than you might think." answered the Grimm lady.

Orochimaru scratched his head, then recoiled from the pain.

"While Cinder plots another strike on the leaf kingdom, I suggest that you search for your former comrade. You said her name was Tsunade, was it not?" asked Salem.

Orochimaru nodded. Now that he thought of it, her legendary healing COULD probably heal his arms.

Perhaps he should go look for her.

However, he got the feeling that maybe Jiraiya was planning to look for Tsunade as well. Unlike his two teammates, he had never shown interest in becoming the Hokage.

Perhaps he would want to find Tsunade quickly.

Fortunately, he happened to know where she was, so finding her would be a lot easier.

 _Meanwhile..._

"I cannot believe that my grandfather is dead!" exclaimed Konohamaru.

Many people had shown up to the 3rd Hokage's funeral. What a pity that he had sacrificed himself for his village. Well, at least he had died a hero.

Konohamaru cried.

"It's alright, he's in heaven now." said Naruto, comforting his friend.

"This is terrible." noted Ruby. Now that the 3rd Hokage was dead, who exactly was going to lead the leaf kingdom?

On the lighter side of things, Jaune, Hinata, Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino, Ruby, Rock Lee, Weiss, Pyrrha, Sai and Yang had all been promoted to chunin. They were also considering making the genin who had participated in repelling Orochimaru's attack chunin as well.

Although, apparently, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, and Penny were all more than strong enough to be chunin to begin with.

She knew that Naruto wanted to become Hokage, but he wasn't strong enough.

She decided to ask Jiraiya.

Curious, she noticed that he was with his apprentice, Weiss Schnee.

"Is this your father?" asked Ruby.

"No, he's my teacher." answered Weiss.

Although, she did WISH that Jiraiya was her dad. She also wished that Rock Lee was her brother.

"Really? You both have white hair and you have a ponytail...and you both have scars on your body..." pointed out Ruby.

"Huh. We do look alike in some ways..." noted Weiss.

"You could say that she's my honorary daughter." answered Jiraiya.

Weiss nodded, though sometimes his flirtatiousness was a bit annoying.

"Uh-huh." nodded Ruby.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

"Do you want to be the Hokage? I heard you're one of the legendary Sannin...I figure you would be perfect for the role." noted the teenage girl with black hair.

"Oh, that...I figured I would have someone else take the role, actually." answered Jiraiya.

"Oh?" asked Ruby.

"Ever heard of Tsunade?" inquired the toad sage.

"As a matter of fact, I have. I would like to get her autograph." said the teenage girl.

"Well, if you want you can come with me..." answered Jiraiya. He appreciated the company.

"Sure...I'll bring my friends." stated Ruby.

She came back with Naruto, Sasuke, and Yang.

Curious, Jiraiya recognized Naruto.

"I know you!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"Really?" asked Naruto.

"You're the son of the Fourth Hokage!" shouted the Sannin.

"Whoa!" exclaimed the blonde genin.

"Huh...I guess I'm not the only one with a famous relative...a famous dead relative." noted Ruby.

"Really? You're serious?" asked Naruto.

"Has anyone ever pointed out that you look like the 4th Hokage?" inquired Jiraiya.

"Maybe once or twice." answered the genin. Of course, some people had compared him to Kushina Uzumaki as well. She was the previous jinchuriki, after all.

"If you come with me, I could teach you how to use the Rasengan. Then again, it took Minato a long time to learn it." noted Jiraiya.

"The Rasengan? Count me in!" exclaimed Naruto.

"I could also teach you how to summon creatures...then again, maybe you're as not of toads as you are..." stated the Sannin.

"I'm more of a fox person." answered the blonde.

"Why doesn't that surprise me." stated the Sannin.

"Do you want to come along, Weiss?" asked Ruby.

"Not at a-"

"There you are!" exclaimed a voice.

Ruby wasn't sure who it was, but as soon as Weiss heard it, she groaned.

As it turned out, it was none other than her father Jacques Schnee.

He had to come to pick up Weiss and take her back to Atlas. Perhaps he was worried about her safety after Orochimaru and the White Fang launched an attack on Vale.

Of course, since Orochimaru had been crippled by the 3rd Hokage, it was unlikely that he would attack again anytime soon, but apparently Jacques Schnee did not care.

"It's time for us to head home." said Jacques.

"But I'm in the middle of a funeral! Can't this wait until after this over!" exclaimed Weiss. She had dressed for the occasion, after all.

"I think white is more your color than black." answered the man.

"Well, technically yes, but-"

Jacques grabbed Weiss by the hand.

Weiss sighed.

"I'll see you later...hopefully." said Weiss.

"Bye..." said Naruto.

On the lighter side of things, maybe Weiss would get to see Gaara again. Didn't he live in Atlas as well?

 _A short while later..._

Weiss sat in the dining room with her hand on her chin.

Granted, the food was delicious, but with the 3rd Hokage dead, she didn't exactly feel like eating. Personally she wanted to help Jiraiya find a replacement for him for the sake of Vale.

But apparently Jacques cared more about Atlas than he cared about Vale. Although, it was likely that Atlas had experienced casualties as well, even if they were the ones that were attacking Vale instead of the other way around.

"I will admit that I am impressed with your combat prowess, even if I never encouraged you to become a huntress." noted Jacques Schnee.

Weiss smiled.

"I heard that you fought the one-tails jinchuriki...you certainly did Vale a favor, saving them from that monster." said Jacques.

"He wasn't a monster, dad." answered Weiss.

"He wasn't? What are you talking about?" inquired the dad.

"He was a miserable boy. A boy with a terrible father." stated the white-haired girl.

"I heard that they're making the boy the Fifth Kazekage to replace the fourth...I have no idea what's gotten into General Ironwood." noted Jacques Schnee.

"Really?" asked Weiss.

Something told her that she should try paying Gaara a visit.

She decided to leave the dining room table.

"Where are you going? We're having a family dinner!" exclaimed Jacques.

"I'm got places to go!" shouted Weiss.

Jacques sighed.

"Make it quick." answered the man.

Weiss nodded.

"By the way sister, when you had him at your mercy, why didn't you, you know, stick a sword through his heart?" asked Weiss's brother Whitley.

"Would you really want to stick a sword through someone as pitiable as Gaara?" inquired Weiss.

"Personally I thought it was foolish. I bet he's plotting his revenge against you as we speak!" exclaimed the teenage boy.

 _Meanwhile, at the Kazekage's office..._

As it turned out, Gaara was looking at a portrait of Weiss, the girl that had changed his life forever. He had decided to purchase one to make sure that he remembered her and didn't go back to his old ways. There was no point in becoming a bloodthirsty killer now that he had been selected to become the Fifth Kazekage.

General Ironwood was going to be his advisor. He didn't seem to discriminate against anyone...which made sense since rumor had it he was a cyborg.

It had been hard finding a picture of Weiss without her father anywhere in the background, but he had found one in the end.

Although, he had noticed in the picture there was writing on it saying "PROPERTY OF JACQUES SCHNEE".

He had gone ahead and had crossed that out.

Currently, Temari was having a discussion with Kankuro.

"I don't get it, it's like Gaara is an entirely different person!" exclaimed Kankuro.

"Your guess is as good as mine." answered Temari.

"I haven't seen him do anything violent at all..." noted the puppet master.

"By the way, why do you have a kiss mark on your face?" asked the kunoichi.

"Oh that...well, apparently ever since I went up against Pyrrha, I've become pretty popular. Nobody has ever come as close to defeating Pyrrha than I did." noted Kankuro.

"Fair enough. I've also gained a jump in popularity myself. The girl I fought...well, apparently she took down several people in a bar fight without breaking a sweat...it was pretty impressive that I could hold my own against her." remarked Temari.

"Uh-huh." nodded Temari's younger brother.

"By the way, how's Penny?" asked Temari.

"Pretty good. She's with her father right now." stated Kankuro.

She was lucky that she still had her father considering what happened to theirs. Who would have thought that Orochimaru would betray him?

Then again, it didn't seem like Orochimaru was too fond of him. He was a terrible father towards Gaara.

 _Elsewhere..._

Penny Polendina was currently sitting on a couch with her father.

"I'm so glad that you're safe...I was worried about you when Adam Taurus decided to use you as a weapon..." noted Dr. Argent.

"Yeah...he's a bad person." nodded Penny.

"If only he didn't let his hatred consume him...then again, you never seem to feel hatred for anyone." answered the doctor.

"True." answered the girl.

Penny opened up a soda and began to drink it.

"Wait, you have a stomach?" inquired Dr. Argent. He never recalled giving Penny a digestive system.

Penny nodded. She noticed that her father enjoyed drinking coffee so she figured she would try it.

"Hmm..." said the scientist. He was starting to question whether he should talk to General Ironwood. Penny was acting more life-like than he had intended, though he was hoping to have a new daughter after his negligence ended up costing his first daughter her life. His wife had divorced him for it.

Still, he was glad that Penny could blend in with human society. He didn't want her to be excluded like Gaara had been before he was nominated to be the Fifth Kazekage.

"Just enjoy your soda, dear." said Dr. Argent.

Penny nodded. She certainly DID enjoy her soda.

 _Meanwhile..._

After leaving her mansion, Weiss went to visit Gaara.

She knocked on his door.

Gaara opened the door.

He smiled upon seeing Weiss.

"Hey." said Gaara.

"Congratulations on becoming the Fifth Kazekage." said Weiss.

Weiss shook Gaara's hand.

"I'm surprised that people want me to become the Fifth Kazekage to be honest." noted Gaara.

"Well, maybe people decided that they were being a bit hard on you." answered Weiss.

"Yeah...it's just as well. The one-tails hasn't been as evil ever since you agreed to spare his life." acknowledged the jinchuriki.

"Yeah, that makes sense." nodded the white-haired girl. Perhaps the one-tails had been used for one war too many. The Fourth Kazekage did seem a bit of a warmonger, giving his willingness to declare war on Vale alongside the White Fang.

"Now that I think of it...aren't you the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company?" asked Gaara.

"Well, apparently my father decided to disinherit my older sister because she wanted to be a huntress...at least my younger brother isn't going to take the title." noted Weiss.

"For some strange reason we both have a family of three..." answered the sand ninja.

"I know, right? That's another thing we have in common...amongst a lot of other things." answered the white-haired girl.

"I know..." stated Gaara. It was starting to get a little scary.

Still, it did make sense that they were friends because of it.

"I'll be seeing you later. My dad wants me to stay at the mansion, as usual." noted Weiss.

"Aren't you training under Jiraiya the Toad Sage?" questioned Gaara.

"I could try training under my sister Winter again...she's been a very helpful mentor." answered the white-haired girl.

"I bet she has." nodded the sand ninja. Of course, he had managed to learn how to control sand without the help of his siblings, since the Fourth Kazekage (and his father) had told them to stay away from him. Just because having a tailed beast living inside you alienated you from your peers didn't mean that it didn't have its perks.

She decided to go visit Winter. Of course, maybe afterwards she could visit Jiraiya again. Maybe she could learn something new from him.

She probably wasn't going to write any erotic novels anytime soon though.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Have you ever tried teaching Weiss this technique?" asked Naruto. It didn't seem like a bad idea, at least to him.

"It's more designed for unarmed combat...if Weiss wanted to use it, she would have to drop her sword, which could be potentially dangerous." answered Jiraiya.

"Oh." acknowledged the chunin.

"I figured that since you prefer taijutsu, you would be more ideal for learning it." stated the Sannin.

Naruto nodded.

"By the way, how are you at summoning?" asked Jiraiya.

"I could try it." stated the blonde.

Naruto pressed his hand on the ground...

...and summoned a fox pup.

"Hmm, he's cute but he doesn't seem exactly threatening to my foes." noted Naruto.

"Want to try again?" asked Jiraiya.

Naruto nodded.

This time, he summoned a slightly bigger fox.

"Still not threatening..." noted Naruto.

Jiraiya wondered what was going on.

He then remembered how Weiss seemed more efficient at summoning when she was under pressure.

"Maybe it's because you're not feeling stressed." said Jiraiya.

"Oh..." answered Naruto.

Curious, the blonde genin noticed that there was an enormous pit nearby.

"You're not going to push me into that pit over there, are you?" asked Naruto.

"Well, if I tried doing that to Weiss, she would simply use glyphs to climb back up. That's how she managed to reach Gaara and stab him." noted Jiraiya.

"Really?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah...the glyphs make for a pretty efficient bridge. You were involved in a bridge project, were you not?" inquired the Sannin.

Naruto nodded.

"Now that I think of it, isn't he a jinchuriki like you?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah...we're a lot alike...just like Ruby and I." noted the blonde.

"Anyways, there's also the possibility that her father will sue me...he is a very wealthy man after all." answered the Sannin.

"Wouldn't want that." nodded Naruto.

"Remember how Orochimaru attacked the leaf kingdom? Imagine if he's attacking it again..." stated Jiraiya.

"Didn't the Third Hokage cripple him?" asked the blonde.

Jiraiya sighed.

"Just pretend he wasn't...though it's a good thing." answered Jiraiya.

Naruto closed his eyes and imagined that Orochimaru was burning Vale to the ground.

He slowly pressed his hand against the ground...

...and summoned an enormous fox.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Naruto.

For a moment, Naruto thought maybe he had summoned Kurama by accident.

However, on closer occasion, this fox happened to be white, and was also female.

"Who are you?" asked Naruto.

"You can call me Isla." answered the white fox.

 _Somebody complained that Naruto wasn't Jiraiya's apprentice in this fanfic so I figured I would have Jiraiya teach Naruto how to use the Rasengan. Maybe they'll be happy now._

 _Since Penny acts surprisingly human for a robot I figured I would lampshade that. There's a reason for that in my fanfic but maybe I won't reveal it just yet. Feel free to guess._

 _In the next chapter, we're going to be introduced to Lady Tsunade. Since we already introduced two of the legendary Sannin why not all three?_


	32. Chapter 32: New Arrivals

_In this chapter, there's going to be new citizens entering Vale...but unfortunately they're not friendly. They've been sent by Salem to infiltrate Vale...and yes, one of them is Cinder._

 _I'm afraid she's planning a followup attack on Vale so that she can reopen the wounds it's still recovering from. Things are not looking good._

 **Chapter 32: New Arrivals**

Shortly after the attack on Vale masterminded by Orochimaru, it received some guests. Currently Vale was trying to rebuild after the invasion. Fortunately, Atlas had agreed to help after all the trouble that they had caused.

Since Orochimaru had murdered the 4th Kazekage as well as the 3rd, they decided that they would make an alliance with them. They wouldn't be helping Orochimaru again, that was for certain.

It was rather relieving...less animosity between the five kingdoms meant less missions, and considering that many lives had been lost during the attack, they couldn't afford to do too many of them, regardless of how important they were to their village.

Besides, there was always the possibility that the Grimm would attack again considering the despair that was now surrounding the area. It would be helpful to have some support.

Whoever was going to be chosen to be the next Hokage, they hoped they would make for a good leader. Neglecting the duties of your village could have serious consequences.

Regarding the new arrivals, the trio claimed they were from Mistral.

Their names were Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald.

Little did they know that Vale was going to be invaded...again. It wouldn't happen today, but it would happen in the future.

But for now, things were seemingly peaceful.

Ruby decided to greet Vale's guests, unaware as to what they were planning.

With her was her dog Zwei.

"Hi there! I'm Ruby! Pleased to meet you!" exclaimed Ruby, shaking Cinder's hand.

Cinder shook Ruby's hand.

"Hello..." said Cinder.

Likewise, Ruby shook hands with Emerald and Mercury.

Unbeknowst to her, the former had snatched Ruby's wallet. When you slew Grimm as much as she did, you tended to get paid pretty well.

"So, what are you doing in Vale?" asked Ruby.

"Well, we heard that Vale was attacked by a scheming madman...we decided to come here to express our sympathies..." lied Cinder.

Unbeknownst to Ruby, that person happened to be a colleague of hers...and the one who had brought her to Salem.

Suddenly, Zwei started barking at Cinder.

"Bark! Bark bark!" exclaimed Zwei.

"What are you barking at, Zwei? Is there a Grimm?" asked Ruby. All the Grimm seemed to have disappeared ever since Orochimaru was wounded.

Perhaps they were worried about their safety. There were Grimm who were smart enough not to simply attack humans on sight.

Zwei shook his head. Although, something told him that Cinder might have a connection with the Grimm.

"Is something the matter? I have some dog treats if you want them..." stated Mercury, pulling out a box of dog treats.

Zwei sniffed the dog treats to see if they reeked of poison.

As it turned out, they did not.

Zwei ate them. However, he was still suspicious of the trio. Something about them didn't seem quite right.

"Say, you look a lot like the famed assassin, Marcus Black...I've heard a lot of scary stories about him." answered Ruby.

Marcus Black happened to be Mercury Black's father, though Mercury wasn't going to admit it to just anyone. He happened to despise his father. He was an alcoholic and an abuser.

That was why he killed him. He figured that nobody would miss him if he was dead...and he was right. Cinder was planning to recruit him (even though he was a dangerous psychopath), but since Mercury had killed him she decided to recruit him instead.

"Really? Must be a coincidence." lied Mercury.

"Yeah..." answered Ruby.

"We'll see you around." said Emerald.

Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury went to look around Vale.

"Have you seen my wallet?" asked Ruby.

Zwei pointed his paw at Emerald, who unbeknownst to Ruby was excellent at genjutsu.

"Huh? Emerald? What about her?" inquired the girl.

It was times like this when Zwei wished he could speak human.

Well, it was a good thing Ruby had wallet insurance...did it cover theft though?

Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald had found a team where they could stay.

The black-haired woman pulled out a scroll.

She used it to contact Roman.

"Do you have the dust I require?" asked Cinder.

"As a matter of fact, I do." answered Roman.

"Good...now that Vale has been significantly weakened, it would be a good time to launch another attack...this won't be as big as Orochimaru's invasion, unfortunately...but it should be enough to inflict some casualties." noted Cinder.

She could perform the bombing as well as her plan involving the Vytal Tournament simultaneously, but there was always the possibility that the White Fang's base of operations could be discovered before they could pull it off. Now seemed like a good time.

She had something much bigger planned during the Vytal Tournament...when many, many people would be watching it on TV.

But for now she would start out small...relatively that is.

 _Elsewhere..._

Once again, Team JHAK was going on a mission.

This time, they found something that was concerning.

Apparently, there were rumors that White Fang were planning something at Mountain Glenn.

"Mountain Glenn?" asked Jaune.

"I've heard of that place...it used to be part of Vale...until it was overrun by Grimm." noted Blake. They simply couldn't hold them all off.

Rumor has it that there was some sort of mad scientist involved in Mountain Glenn being invaded.

Unfortunately, Grimm weren't willing to allow humans to expand their territory...nor would they allow Faunus outside the borders of the five kingdoms. Aside from attacking humans and Faunus, Grimm were also known to cause destruction in human settlements.

"You don't suppose that the White Fang are using it as a hideout now that everyone's gone?" asked Jaune.

"It's possible." answered Hinata. People said that Mountain Glenn was haunted...haunted by Grimm.

Either way, it would be a good time to kill some Grimm there. Maybe if they killed enough Grimm they could expand Vale's territory. People needed homes to live in, after all.

However, they decided it would be best if Kurenai accompanied them, just in case the White Fang WERE in the area. It was better safe than sorry, especially considering that the White Fang were hunting Blake down for desertion.

They went to go find her.

"Do you need help with a mission?" asked Kurenai.

"Well, we heard that the White Fang might have a hideout in Mountain Glenn somewhere..." suggested Jaune. Knowing that the White Fang were partly responsible for the attack on Vale, it would be best if they did something about their hideout to avoid the possibility of another attack.

"If that's the case, Kiba should take Akamaru with him." noted the woman.

"I already am." answered Kiba.

"Good. Hopefully with your tracking skills, you'll be able to find the White Fang before they find you, assuming that they are hiding in Mountain Glenn." noted Kurenai.

Team JHAK nodded.

Together, they set out towards Mountain Glenn.

They had to admit, it was a rather gloomy place. There were ruined buildings all over the place.

"Be careful, Mountain Glenn Grimm are tougher than the ones in the outskirts of Vale..." noted Kurenai. It was further away from their borders, after all.

Team SINR were investigating the mission board as well.

There had been a mutant Grimm spotted in Mountain Glenn.

It was an Ursa this time.

"Whose mutating these Grimm? It doesn't seem to be a natural-born one..." noted Shikamaru.

"I wish I knew..." answered Ren. It would be best if they found out who was doing it. They likely had a hideout somewhere.

"I say we smash it with a hammer!" exclaimed Nora.

"Not a bad idea, but we should approach with caution." said Ino.

 _Meanwhile..._

"So, what do you want in exchange for your help?" asked Naruto. Apparently, Gamabunta had tested out Weiss's strength before becoming her summon. Luckily,

"Nothing much. Why don't you take me to one of your cities?" inquired the fox.

"I don't know, after Vale got attacked by a giant fox, I think they'll probably panic if one of them approaches." noted the blonde.

"Oh, that...that won't be an issue." stated Isla.

With a burst of smoke, Isla suddenly appeared a heck of a lot more human.

However, she happened to be naked.

Jiraiya's face turned red.

Naruto wasn't too phased however.

"I guess I'm not the only one who knows a sexy jutsu..." noted Naruto.

Isla nodded.

"You probably want to put some clothes on though..." remarked the blonde.

"Well, I have to admit that I don't want to freeze out here..." noted the fox lady.

Isla put on an orange tube top and miniskirt, as well as some high heels.

"A tube top and miniskirt? I don't know, that seems kind of revealing..." noted the chunin. He preferred to dress more modestly personally.

"I think it's perfect!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"If you say so..." answered Naruto.

Naruto, Jiraiya, and Isla left the training ground and began to head to the city.

Ruby approached him.

"Hey, Naruto...er, whose your friend? And why is she dressed like that? Won't she freeze?" asked Ruby.

Personally she didn't think even her sister Yang would dress like that, though she did have a habit of baring her midriff.

"I'll be fine..." answered Isla.

Ruby raised an eyebrow.

For some strange reason, Naruto's friend happened to have fox ears.

Was she a Faunus? Then again, Naruto happened to have fox characteristics even though he wasn't a Faunus.

"Is your friend a Faunus?" asked Ruby.

"Sort of." answered Naruto.

Naruto thought it was odd that his fox summon liked humans when the fox living inside him hated humans. Although, perhaps the nine-tailed fox didn't hate Faunuses. They never seemed to treat him like a mindless animal.

Now that he thought of it, out of all the casualties of the nine-tailed fox's attack, only a handful of them appeared to be Faunus.

Hopefully they weren't going to be blamed for the attack. The Uchiha Clan had already been blamed, nobody else should be a scapegoat.

After spending the day with the humans that Kurama despised but she herself did not, Isla gave Naruto a contract to sign.

Now that things had been settled with his summon, it was time to search for Tsunade.

Thankfully, she wasn't far from Vale or it would be a long trip.

 _Meanwhile..._

Tsunade was with her apprentice Shizune. She hadn't left Patch for some time now. She was glad to be somewhere peaceful. There wasn't a Grimm in sight. Of course, she had made sure of that.

It seemed that people appreciated her help with dealing with the Grimm. It also seemed that the Grimm weren't so willing to enter Patch with one of the Sannin around. Though people had compared Grimm to mindless beasts, older Grimm were actually fairly intelligent.

The same could be said for Vale. The Grimm didn't want to go anywhere near Jiraiya or his toad summons. He could potentially kill an entire army of Grimm by himself, though it would depend on the Grimm species. Some species of Grimm were stronger than others.

Currently, she was gambling, however as usual she wasn't earning any money.

"You might want to avoid gambling so much...you're going to owe a lot of money if you keep gambling." noted Shizune.

Tsunade sighed. Why was she so bad at gambling?

Although...whenever she did do well at gambling, something bad happened, like a Grimm attack. Fortunately, she had repelled enough Grimm for them to know that trying to attack her was a bad idea.

In contrast, Shizune was a rather good gambler. At this rate she was going to be filthy rich.

She happened to know Taiyang Xiao Long. He was one of the four heroes that had tried to stop Salem in the past. Though they hadn't succeeded in breaching Salem's castle and killing the person in charge, three of them were still alive.

However, one of the remaining members chickened out and went her separate ways from them.

She wondered where she was now.

Now that she thought of it, didn't Taiyang have two children?

Hopefully they could uphold their father's legacy. They were good at killing Grimm, so perhaps they would. Rumor had it that one of them was in possession of a very special dojutsu, though she hadn't mastered it yet.

 _Meanwhile at Vale..._

Shortly after Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald showed up, Sasuke's own brother Itachi as well as his partner Kisame arrived at the city. Now seemed like a good opportunity to strike.

Itachi remembered Orochimaru. He had once tried to steal his body. Luckily, he was able to overpower him before he could succeed. However, he wondered if his brother was going to be targeted next.

Perhaps letting him be part of the Akatsuki was a mistake.

Unlike Cinder and her two comrades, they had no intention of hiding their true intentions.

It was obvious what they were there for. They were here to capture Naruto and by extension his nine-tailed fox.

Unbeknownst to them, he wasn't in the village at the moment.

Kakashi of course wouldn't allow them to capture Naruto.

"The Akatsuki are here?" thought Kakashi. They must have heard about the invasion and were taking advantage of it.

He immediately approached them.

With him were Asuma and Kurenai.

"You're here for Naruto, aren't you?" asked Kakashi.

"I figured it would be best to capture Naruto quickly before my brother finds me. He has a desire for vengeance and I don't really feel like fighting my younger brother." noted Itachi.

"If you didn't want to fight him, why did you slaughter your own clan?" inquired the jonin.

"If I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me." answered Itachi.

"Can we fight these three? My sword hungers for their chakra?" asked Kisame.

"Alright, but let's settle this quickly. We don't want to attract too much attention." stated Sasuke's older brother.

Kakashi tried attacking Itachi, but he found himself trapped in a genjutsu.

And a very nasty one.

Kakashi experienced himself being slashed by Itachi repeatedly. Blood was oozing from his wounds.

It was pretty horrifying.

And to make matters worse, though the genjutsu was a short-lasting one, it seemed like it was happening for quite some time. He imagined his arm being cut off and being stabbed in the eye.

Incidentally, his Sharingan had been a replacement for his severed eye during one of his many missions. What a pity that the Uchiha clan were wiped out. He appreciated their kindness.

After imagining himself being ripped into half (yet not actually being killed), the genjutsu wore off.

"Ugh...I feel like I woke up from a nightmare..." thought Kakashi to himself.

It would most likely be best if he DIDN'T make eye contact with Itachi. Genjutsu of his caliber could drive ninja insane.

Then again, perhaps Itachi could use genjutsu without making eye contact with a victim.

While he was at it, he should warn his comrades. He didn't want them to experience the same horrors that he did.

Unfortunately, Asuma and Kurenai weren't doing much better against Kisame.

Not only was his sword enormous, it seemed to be sapping away at their strength. They were having trouble casting jutsu.

And to make matters worse, Asuma's fire jutsu were being countered by Kisame's water jutsu. Perhaps he should try studying earth jutsu for a change. That would give him an advantage against Mantle ninja.

However, help would arrive from an unlikely source.

As it turned out, the Akatsuki happened to be enemies of Salem, since their leader wished for peace in the world of Remnant.

Because of this, Cinder could attack the duo while keeping her cover as an innocent huntress.

She proceeded to fire an arrow at Itachi, who quickly parried it with his sword.

Apparently, she was stronger than Kakashi was.

Not only that, both Emerald and Mercury seemed to be around jonin level. Though Emerald wasn't as proficient with genjutsu as Itachi was, she was still very good at it regardless.

He was starting to wonder if he should retreat. As powerful as he was, he couldn't stand up against the entirety of Vale put together, though perhaps his employer could.

"Oh great! More hunters and huntresses for me to fight!" exclaimed Kisame enthusiastically.

"I know that you like the thrill of combat, but I'm starting to think that we should leave." answered Itachi.

"But we just got here!" shouted the swordsman.

"I know that, but Naruto's too well-defended for the moment. We're going to have to find another opportunity to strike." stated the man.

"Fair enough." nodded Kisame. Now that he thought of it, he was starting to see why some of the Grimm held off against attacking huma nity despite being as bloodthirsty as he was. Apparently, now was not a good time.

Kisame noticed that Might Guy was entering the fray as well, so perhaps it would be best if they retreated.

Although, for some strange reason, the woman with the black hair looked familiar. Had Pain told him about her once?

Both Itachi and Kisame decided to retreat for the time being.

However, as they did so, Itachi was spotted by Sasuke.

"My brother is here?" asked Sasuke.

If that was the case, he was going to take the opportunity to get his revenge on him.

Fortunately, Kakashi had taught him how to use the Chidori technique.

Normally he wouldn't teach it to someone, since the Chidori wasn't normally effective due to the fact that it obscured a ninja's vision while they were using it.

However, in Sasuke's case, that wasn't an issue, since the Sharingan enhanced his eyesight.

Now that Kakashi thought of it, maybe he could try teaching a Byakugan user that technique. Perhaps their eyesight wouldn't be obscured either. They did have heavily increased eyesight with their Byakugan, after all.

 _Meanwhile..._

Adam Taurus gave Orochimaru and Kabuto a map of Patch.

Since that was where Tsunade was staying, it was a good idea to plan ahead.

However, they would have to be careful not to be spotted by anyone other than Tsunade herself.

After all, Vale was planning on hunting him down after what he did to the Third Hokage. Orochimaru wasn't exactly looking forward to a public execution. No doubt people would be celebrating.

They wouldn't rest until his blood had been spilled.

If he was at his full strength, this wouldn't be such a big deal, but as it was, the Hokage had crippled him...there was no way he would be able to fend off Jiraiya or Ozpin, though something told him that the former wasn't so willing to face him in battle.

Such a shame he chose not to join Salem like he did.

Perhaps Tsunade would be more willing. All that he requested was that she heal his arms. She didn't have to lay a finger on Vale at all.

Since Tsunade would likely want something in return, why not resurrect her loved ones?

Surely she would like to see them again. Like Ruby, she had lost a loved one in the past.

In fact, she had lost two of them. Her younger brother and her boyfriend. They had both been killed by particularly nasty Grimm. Unfortunately, not even children were safe from the Grimm. In fact, it seemed like they hated children because they were innocent...most of them, anyway.

On the lighter side of things, Tsunade had taken up medical jutsu to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. It was quite useful to have in emergencies.

For some strange reason, Tsunade's younger brother happened to resemble Naruto. It was kind of weird. Hopefully he wouldn't meet the same fate.

Fortunately, it wouldn't be a long trip. Otherwise, Orochimaru would probably go crazy due to his rotting arms. Then again, perhaps he was already crazy.

Cinder contacted Orochimaru with her scroll.

"Did you find Tsunade?" asked Cinder.

"We've narrowed down her location." answered Orochimaru.

"Good...Salem will be pleased to hear that." stated the young woman. The two of them got along well despite their age differences. Of course, she had no intention of hooking up with someone who was basically twice her age.

Hopefully Tsunade would be able to heal his arms. Having arms afflicted with necrosis wasn't exactly good for your health.

 _This isn't good...it appears that Cinder has already managed to infilitrate Vale. She also happens to be planning something._

 _Of course, Zwei seems to know that Cinder is evil. Emerald and Mercury are a bit more morally ambiguous. Mercury did have that horrible father of his, after all. Not unlike Gaara, wouldn't you say?_

 _Also, Itachi and Kisame have shown up as well. And yes, the Akatsuki are enemies of Salem in this fic. They don't wish to destroy humanity like she does, after all. Although...perhaps Hidan would be interested in joining her._


	33. Chapter 33: The Adorable Assassin

_Well, it's time for another chapter of my fanfic. Jaune and Roman will meet...again! It's funny how they keep meeting like this...however, Roman plans to do a little something about his archnemesis._

 _Oh, and Naruto will search for Tsunade. Unfortunately Orochimaru will get there first. He has an eye for a bargain...as you can probably tell by the ninja that he's corrupted over the years. Just because the curse seals give you power doesn't mean that it's a good idea to have Orochimaru place one on your neck. It will drive you crazy._

 _Joining the search are Ruby and Yang. Apparently Ruby would love to meet a famous celebrity like Tsunade. Although...she already got to meet one of the few survivors of the Uchiha clan. Is she getting greedy?_

 **Chapter 33: The Adorable Assassin**

Since the coast seemed to be clear, Team JHAK decided to set up camp for the night. So far they hadn't found the White Fang, but on the lighter side of things, they had managed to decrease the local Grimm population. Hopefully that would prevent another Grimm attack in the future. They were still recovering from the White Fang attack that had resulted in the death of the Third Hokage.

To their knowledge, they hadn't found a Fifth Hokage yet. Granted, Jiraiya himself was defending the village at the moment to make sure it didn't get attacked again, but it was better safe than sorry.

There were a lot of Grimm in Mountain Glenn, but they had managed to hold them off. Some of them were different than the ones that were at the outskirts of Vale.

It seemed the further you went away from civilization, the stronger the Grimm became.

Still, fighting Grimm after a while started to wear at them. It was a good idea to rest now that the Grimm had stopped attacking them for the time being.

One of them resembled a chameleon. It naturally had the ability to cloak itself, which is why they were typically referred to as Cloakers. In addition, they also had really long tongues...which allowed them to grab potential prey.

Another resembled a gorilla. It was known as the Beringel. However, this gorilla Grimm was anything but peaceful. Whenever they saw one, it beat its chest like...well, a gorilla.

Perhaps that was what espionage ninja like their team were for. They knew how to find them before they found potential prey.

Blake was reminded of Ilia when it came to the Cloakers. Of course, Ilia didn't seem so willing to attack her fellow Faunus.

They noticed Goliaths in the distance. Wherever they walked, there were small earthquakes.

Akamaru whimpered. The power radiating from those elephants were overwhelming. He doubted that they could take them on. In fact, they weren't sure even a jonin could kill them.

Although, considering the lack of scars, these Grimm didn't seem to have experienced many battles.

Who would have thought that Grimm could grow so big? They made older Death Stalkers and Nevermores seem tiny by comparison. And yes, they had fought against those evil creatures.

Although, for some strange reason, they didn't seem to be paying any attention to them. They were walking by as if they weren't there at all.

Apparently, these Grimm had stopped attacking humans. However, they seemed to be waiting for something.

Perhaps they were studying Vale?

The fact that these Grimm were rather intelligent worried the five of them.

Frightened by the Grimm, Akamaru went to hide in a corner while the rest of them were sleeping.

Jaune decided to look for him.

"There you are! What is it?" asked Jaune.

"Bark bark bark!" exclaimed Akamaru.

Suddenly, part of the road collapsed.

The blonde warrior screamed as he fell.

Fortunately, it seemed that his chakra helped to break his fall. Otherwise he probably would have died.

Having a large amount of chakra could come in handy. He remembered the time that Hinata had gone up against Cardin. That had been the only time that he had seen Hinata use much of her chakra, and it was surprising what she could do.

Likewise, that had been how Nora had won against Neji. He just couldn't take away all of her chakra.

Jaune shook his head and looked around.

He noticed that there were several Atlas mechs nearby, even though he was nowhere near Atlas.

This was definitely a White Fang hideout. Perhaps this was their base of operations in Vale.

It looked like due to him being a klutz, he had managed to discover it.

It would be best if he contacted his teammates. He doubted that he could infiltrate their fortress by himself. He wasn't sure what was exactly in their lair.

He pulled out his scroll and texted his friends.

This was something that they would like to hear. Hopefully he wouldn't take too much noise.

"I found the White Fang hideout! Now I just need to get out of h-"

"Hey!" exclaimed a White Fang soldier who had spotted Jaune. He was wondering what the heck a human was doing in their hideout other than Roman and Neo.

It was at this point that the warrior realized the danger he was in.

He needed to alert his teammates, and fast.

Jaune sent an SOS signal.

"HELP!" read the text.

He put up a good fight, but eventually the White Fang Faunus grappled him.

"I'm sure that Torchwick would like to see you..." remarked a White Fang lieutenant who was wielding a chainsaw.

As Jaune was being carried away by several White Fang members, he noticed that for some strange reason there seemed to be quite a bit of dust in that hideout.

Why exactly did they need so much dust? There weren't too many White Fang members in the hideout, so theoretically a lot of it wouldn't go to use in enhancing their weapons.

Roman stood next to Neo, who as usual was carrying a parasol with her. It seemed like she was never without it...even though it wasn't raining at Mountain Glenn at all.

"You again?" asked Roman. Why exactly did they keep running into each other like this?

Jaune noted that it had been a while since they had last met...not like he enjoyed Roman's company.

"Typical, just as I'm about to execute an attack on Vale, you show up and try to ruin everything. I can't expect anything else from you." noted Roman.

"You won't get away with this, Roman!" exclaimed Jaune.

"What makes you think that Vale will discover this? Nobody's stepped foot in Mountain Glenn in ages!" exclaimed Roman. In fact, they hadn't heard about the place until Cinder had told him about it.

"Should we chase after him?" asked a White Fang recruit. If they acted fast, chances are they would be able to catch him. Granted, he would probably put up a good fight, but still.

"No." answered Roman in an angry voice.

"Huh?" asked the recruit. For a moment he thought he had been asking a rhetorical question, but apparently he wasn't.

"Jaune has made a fool of me for the last time. I'm sending Neo." stated the man.

"What?!" exclaimed the White Fang recruit.

The White Fang soldiers began to swear nervously. Though Neo did not look intimidating at all at first glance, what with her cute appearance and short stature, they had heard nasty stories about the parasol wielder. She had murdered a few daiymos in the past, and their bodyguards had failed miserably when they tried to stop her. They said that she was a VERY dangerous assassin.

If Roman was sending Neo after Jaune, chances are he would be a goner.

Roman turned to Neo.

"Neo, go kill him." stated Roman.

Neo smiled and began to walk away.

The White Fang members gasped in shock.

As Jaune attempted to leave the White Fang's hideout, someone threw some shurikens at him.

He quickly blocked it with his shield.

He wondered why the White Fang hadn't confiscated his weapons. To be fair, there were a variety of ninja that could fight without using a weapon. Having a weapon could be useful in certain circumstances though.

Perhaps they didn't think of him as a threat. He was kind of a weak link amongst his family. They were normally known for being warriors and knights. But it seemed like he was a page at the most.

He looked around to see who had thrown the shurikens at him.

He did not see anyone.

He decided to continue running.

However, shortly afterwards, he had a kunai launched at his head.

He was starting to feel really creeped out.

Strangely enough, there weren't any White Fang members in sight.

Thereotically, Roman would have sent them after him. After all, he did know about his secret hideout.

And yet, for some strange reason, he got the feeling that he had sent something far worse.

 _Meanwhile..._

For some strange reason, Tsunade was actually winning at gambling. In fact, she seemed to be on a lucky streak.

Something funny was going on.

Unfortunately, this was a bad omen and she knew it.

Last time that had happened, an Alpha Beowulf had bitten Shizune on the leg and had made her bleed.

And unfortunately, she thought that blood was scary. She had seen a fair amount of bloodshed in her lifetime, though she hadn't actually witnessed her younger brother's death, thank goodness.

She had still managed to heal Shizune, luckily, but the incident had shaken her up somewhat.

She got the feeling that somebody was coming after her, but she wasn't quite sure who.

She would find out as she tried to leave the city.

As it turned out, it was Orochimaru, her former comrade.

"Hello, Tsunade. Long time no see." said Orochimaru.

Tsunade gasped. She wasn't expecting to see him again today. Nor was she looking forward to it.

With him was his right-hand man Kabuto. Apparently with his current condition he needed somebody to escort him.

She had heard all about the horribly experiments that he had concocted on innocent Vale ninja. Apparently, he wanted to find immortality.

In addition, he wanted to obtain all the jutsu in existence. It seemed like an impossible task, even for a Sannin such as herself.

Apparently he had launched an attack on Vale itself. It had certainly cost the kingdom many lives, including that of the Third Hokage who sacrificed himself to prevent more lives from being lost.

He had also apparently learned how to control Grimm.

Tsunade got the feeling that she might know how he managed to pull it off.

"Care to help out an old friend?" asked Orochimaru.

Orochimaru stretched out his arms, which were covered in bandages.

"I heard you were involved in a plot to assassinate the Third Hokage..." said Tsunade.

"He is no longer with us." stated Orochimaru.

"You killed him!" exclaimed Shizune.

"But in the process, he managed to cripple me. I need your medical expertise. It's impossible for me to perform hand seals as long as I'm afflicted with necrosis." explained the Sannin.

In addition, if he wanted to summon Manda, he would need a blood source that wasn't from himself. He could have summoned him during the Konoha Invasion, but his prices tended to be absurd.

"And help you attack Vale again? I'm not helping a terrorist!" shouted the legendary healer.

"Not even after hearing what I have on offer? I'm sure you would love to see your brother and lover again..." noted Orochimaru.

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock.

"Wait, you can resurrect the dead?" asked Tsunade. She might be a legendary healer, but not even she could do that.

Orochimaru nodded.

"I happen to have learned a jutsu that allows me to bring back people from the dead. I just need a dead body for this purpose. I'll give you seventy-two hours to think things over. It would probably be best if you didn't tell Jiraiya about it. I doubt that he would approve." said the Sannin.

Something told him that he would choose Tsunade above him involving the matter of becoming the next Hokage.

Maybe he simply knew his former teammate too well.

"Mm-hmm." answered Tsunade.

Orochimaru and Kabuto left the scene.

Tsunade wondered if she should help Orochimaru. She would enjoy seeing her loved ones again. Personally she felt like her younger brother Nawaki had died too young. But at least he got to be a ninja, even if he didn't get to become Hokage.

His story was similar to that of a huntress named Gretchen, now that she thought of it. Of course, Gretchen hadn't been so impulsive and hadn't essentially taken a walk in a minefield.

However, she did not want to put the Leaf kingdom at risk. If she healed Orochimaru there would be nothing stopping him from attacking Vale again. Something told her that another attack was on its way already.

What should she choose?

 _Elsewhere..._

Hinata woke up, only to discover that Jaune was missing.

"Jaune? Where did he go?" asked Hinata.

She sure hoped that the Grimm hadn't caught him. Strangely, none of them had attacked the White Fang from the looks of it. Perhaps it was because they dressed like them.

She used her Byakugan in order to investigate.

However, she didn't find him anywhere.

She sure hoped that the Grimm hadn't caught him. They hadn't been bothering them after they had reduced the Grimm population in the area. Apparently, they had realized that attacking them head-on would be too risky.

She did see Akamaru. He was trying to tell them something.

"Bark! Bark!" exclaimed Akamaru.

"What is it?" asked Kiba.

"Bark!" shouted the puppy.

"Jaune?" inquired the dog tamer.

The five of them went to investigate.

They noticed that there was an enormous pit in the ground.

"What could have made that pit?" asked Hinata. Was it some sort of Grimm? Perhaps there was some sort of worm Grimm that was capable of doing such a thing.

Hinata investigated the hole, but she didn't find any sign of a Grimm.

"It was possibly an earthquake...however, I get the feeling that the White Fang are down there..." noted Kurenai.

"What?! We must find Jaune immediately!" exclaimed the Hyuga ninja.

Suddenly, she received a distress call.

"Huh?" asked Hinata.

Her eyes widened.

"What is it?" inquired Blake.

"It's Jaune! We have to find him immediately!" nodded the kunoichi.

Kurenai nodded.

Apparently, the White Fang's hideout was at the Mountain Glenn subway.

They had to get there before it was too late.

It WOULD explain how they were able to get to Vale without being spotted. They had guards stationed across the borders to make sure that Grimm did not enter the city. Of course, the Grimm were smart enough not to enter Vale when they were seriously outnumbered.

Together, the five of them ran towards the subway.

 _Meanwhile..._

Elsewhere in Mountain Glenn, Team SINR were searching for the mutated Ursa.

They had seen pawprints on the ground...green pawprints.

However, the mutated Ursa wasn't alone and they had Grimm to deal with. They were more numerous than the ones in the outskirts of Vale.

Still, if they kept following the footprints, chances are that they would eventually find the Ursa.

How hard could a Grimm be to find, anyway?

Although, some of the Grimm seemed to have the ability to blend in to their surroundings.

That had resulted in them being ambushed a few times. One of the Cloakers grabbed onto Ino's ankle with its surprisingly long tongue.

Ino frantically shook her ankle in order to detach its tongue.

Fortunately, Nora smashed the tongue with her hammer.

"Thanks...that tongue felt awfully slimy..." noted Ino.

Luckily, Cloakers weren't poisonous...though this did not necessarily mean that they weren't dangerous to humans or Faunus. You had to stay alert if you wanted to fight Grimm like them.

 _Elsewhere..._

"Ruby, where are you going?" asked Taiyang. After Orochimaru attacked Vale, he wanted to make extra sure that his younger daughter was safe.

"I heard Tsunade was in Patch...I would love to have her autograph!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Remember the last time you went alone?" inquired the blonde man. It was horrifying to think what could have happened to Ruby and Yang when the Grimm discovered them.

"Oh...well, this time things will be different! I have my scythe!" shouted the teenage girl. That, and she had unlocked her chakra. Now she could take down hordes of Grimm...Beowulves anyway. She wasn't sure about hordes of Ursa. Yang seemed more suited for them.

"True...I still think that you should take your older sister with you." noted Taiyang. Granted, Yang had ended up putting her younger sister in danger once...but she had learned since then. Besides, who would have thought that there were Grimm right outside Taiyang's house?

"The more the merrier!" exclaimed Ruby.

Currently, Yang was testing out her motor bike.

Of course, since Ruby had super speed, she had never felt the need to use a motorcycle.

Still, it looked like it would be fun to ride.

"Want to go visit Tsunade?" asked Ruby.

"I hear she's a legendary fist fighter!" exclaimed Yang.

Ruby nodded. She WAS a legendary fist fighter. She could probably kill a Goliath with her bare hands.

She was also legendary when it came to healing jutsu. If you were wounded and required assistance, she was your woman.

"Count me in!" shouted the blonde.

"I heard that Naruto's going to visit her as well...Jiraiya is with him." noted Ruby.

"I get to meet two Sannin? That's a pretty good deal!" exclaimed Yang.

Although, meeting Orochimaru hadn't been fun. He was a nightmare personified. Still, if she kept working out like she usually did, she would stand a better chance against him in case they met again.

And she simply loved working out.

Hopefully she wouldn't have to see him again anytime soon.

 _Meanwhile..._

Jaune continued to run away. He still wasn't sure who was tossing kunai and shuriken at him.

All he knew was that they were awfully fast.

He wondered how he was going to get out of this mess.

Suddenly, he noticed that there was an EXIT sign nearby.

"Well, that's awfully convenient...a little too convenient if you ask me." answered Jaune.

However, as Jaune approached the EXIT sign, Neo suddenly dropped from above.

Jaune gasped.

"Well, there goes my only method of escape.." noted Jaune.

It looked like he had no choice but to try to fight his way out, however futile that may be.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Neo had plenty of chakra...possibly even more so than Roman did.

He would be VERY lucky if he managed to take her down.

And to make matters worse, Neo vanished from his sight every time he blinked an eye.

She was surprisingly quick.

Neo pressed a button on her umbrella and it was replaced with a sword.

Jaune gulped upon noticing just how sharp the sword was.

Was his armor going to protect him?

He could only hope.

She and Jaune got into a sword fight.

However, it was rather apparent that Neo was a skilled swordsman.

Jaune was by no means bad at being a swordsman though he had a hard time at the ninja academy, but it was becoming clear that Neo had a lot more experience than he did.

After all, though he was a teenager, Neo happened to be a young adult.

Eventually, Neo knocked the sword right out of Jaune's hand.

Jaune gulped.

Neo smirked. Roman would be so proud of her once she dealt with the blonde.

However, before she could cleave Jaune's head off his shoulders, Kiba suddenly lunged at her.

Neo quickly defended herself from him with her umbrella.

However, he was quickly followed by Hinata and Blake.

Though admittedly she was a very strong assassin, she didn't like her chances of taking on all four of them.

Besides, she got the feeling a jonin was with them. If she took her on, she might lose.

She decided to retreat for the time being.

Hopefully Roman would understand.

Neo vanished in a burst of pink smoke.

"Where'd she go?" asked Kiba. He couldn't pick up her scent, which smelled like ice cream, curiously enough.

"I don't know..." answered Jaune.

 _It looks like Tsunade has a decision to make. Of course, you're probably familiar with if you've seen the original Naruto anime. Even without bloodthirsty Grimm the world of Naruto just isn't safe._

 _I chose to feature the Goliaths in this fanfic since it's important to note that not all Grimm mindlessly attack humans. I'd They did, they probably would have gone extinct a long time ago. Some of them actually PLAN their attacks beforehand._

 _In other news, Jaune got into a pretty nasty situation. He was lucky he made it out of this one. After all, we can't spell Team JHAK without Jaune. There's a reason why the White Fang are frightened of Neo in this fanfic. She's a psychotic killer!_

 _ _And yes, Ruby wanting Tsunade's autograph is a bit of a mythology gag considering she wanted Glynda Goodwitch's autograph in the first episode that was named afterul her.__


	34. Chapter 34: The Akatsuki

_In this chapter...well, it seems like Team JHAK won't be able to stop Roman in time._

 _Sorry if you're disappointed. To be fair things would have been a lot worse if they had done nothing at all._

 _I suppose we should also check on some of the other ninja. I figured it would be interesting to see what they were up to._

 _The Akatsuki are going to show up...but then again, you probably figured that out already._

 **Chapter 34: The Akatsuki**

"Did you find out what Roman's up to?" asked Blake. She always had the feeling that he was up to something tremendous. There was a pattern with the robberies.

"I found a lot of dust...there also seem to be some Grimm in the area..." noted Jaune.

They heard growling nearby.

Curious, he noticed that there was a sign saying "To Vale" in one of the subway tunnels.

It then occurred to the blonde what Roman was planning to do.

"Wait a minute...he's trying to make the Grimm invade Vale!" exclaimed Jaune.

"What? We can't let that happen!" shouted Hinata. Imagine what could happen to the civilians. The Grimm would have them for their supper.

It was times like this when she was glad that she had unlocked her aura. However, she had yet to discover her semblance, though she HAD succeeded in unlocking her Byakugan despite not initially being considered strong.

In fact, so had Jaune.

Besides, who knows what Grimm were lurking in the subway tunnels? They were likely stronger than the ones that they could find outside.

"There's one thing I'm asking though...why exactly is he doing this? I don't see what he has to gain from this...if he destroys the city, they'll be hardly anything for him to loot from it..." noted Jaune.

"I don't know, but if Roman successfully forms a bridge for the Grimm to cross, they'll be nothing stopping them from attacking Vale residents..." said Kiba.

It would be best if they stopped the train before it was too late. Maybe if they successed in their mission they would be hailed as heroes.

Or failing that, try to kill as many Grimm as possible so that they'll have fewer numbers when they arrive in the city.

Immediately, they boarded the train and prepared to stop Roman.

However, they discovered that there were many White Fang members waiting for them.

Apparently they weren't so willing to allow them to stop their operation.

"I guess we better get started." noted Jaune.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Tsunade, where are you?" asked Ruby.

"She's got to be around here somewhere." answered Yang.

Ruby shrugged.

She supposed her sister was right.

She decided to keep looking.

Perhaps she should have brought Zwei. He had a good sense of smell.

But then again, he probably wouldn't recognize Tsunade's scent.

However, at that very moment, she spotted Weiss.

"Weiss? Is that you?" asked Ruby. She was under the impression that she would be with her teammates and Might Guy.

"Oh...hey, Ruby." said Weiss.

"Have you seen Tsunade?" asked Ruby.

"We're looking for her." answered the white-haired girl.

"We?" inquired the girl.

"I'm with Jiraiya...he picked up another apprentice." explained Weiss. Strangely enough, Naruto seemed to have a lot more in common with Ruby than he did with her.

"Any idea as to where to look for her?" asked Ruby.

"I haven't found her yet...I'm not sure where she could be." answered Weiss.

"I sure hope that we find her soon...what if Orochimaru recovers?" inquired Naruto.

"I'm not sure if he'll be able to attack the village again for a while." noted Ruby. Based on what she knew, Orochimaru had been crippled severely.

Still, he was still alive.

Suddenly, Naruto's stomach began to grumble.

"Are you feeling hungry, Naruto?" inquired the black-haired girl.

Naruto nodded. He WAS feeling hungry.

"Let me guess...you want to eat ramen, right?" asked Ruby.

Naruto nodded once again.

Curious, he noticed a sign with an arrow on it saying "Free Ramen!"

He decided to investigate.

However, when he followed the arrow, he found himself in a dark alley.

"Huh? Where's the ramen?" asked Naruto.

What exactly would ramen be doing in an alley like this anyway?

Suddenly, two ninja approached him.

Naruto gazed at them curiously. Both of them were dressed in black robes with red clouds on them. He wondered why exactly they were dressed like that.

One of them resembled a shark and had blue skin. Apparently, he was a shark Faunus. However, most Faunus did not look that evil.

The other, for some strange reason, looked somewhat like his teammate Sasuke Uchiha. He even possessed the Sharingan just as he did. However, he was significantly taller.

"Who are you?" asked Naruto.

"Your worst nightmare." stated the one with the enormous sword.

Naruto gulped.

However, at that very moment, they heard a voice.

"Itachi!" exclaimed Sasuke Uchiha.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

As it turned out, Sasuke had been following Naruto.

He had been awaiting the opportunity to get revenge for his clan.

"Brother?" asked Itachi.

"Don't call me your brother!" exclaimed Sasuke.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan.

He then charged towards his brother with his Chidori.

However, Itachi was too fast for him.

Sasuke found himself trapped in an illusion.

He found himself surrounded by Grimm.

He gasped in shock.

He then began to scream.

"Sasuke? What's wrong?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke passed out on the ground.

Naruto gasped.

"It looks like Sasuke has fallen victim to one of Itachi's genjutsus. After experiencing one of those, you'll never sleep well again!" exclaimed Kisame.

Naruto started to wonder if he was outmatched. Itachi had toppled his own brother without breaking a sweat. To think that like him, he also possessed the Sharingan.

He began to think about running away.

However, it seemed Sasuke desperately needed his help.

At that very moment, both Yang and Ruby arrived on the scene.

"Sasuke!" exclaimed Yang.

"Are you alright, Naruto? I heard Sasuke screaming..." said Ruby.

Seeing Sasuke passed out on the ground made Yang angry.

She charged towards Itachi and Kisame.

"Um, sis..." stated Ruby.

Yang attempted to punch Itachi in the face in order to protect Sasuke.

However, as she advanced towards him, she started to feel weak.

She wondered what was going on.

Eventually, she collapsed on the ground and passed out, just like Sasuke. She unfortunately had not reached Itachi.

"Yang!" exclaimed Ruby.

Kisame smirked.

"It looks like Samehada won't be going hungry tonight! Although, her chakra was rather spicy..." noted Kisame.

Ruby looked at her sister, who was unconscious on the ground.

"We should capture the boy now." said Itachi.

"Alright, but shouldn't we cut off his legs first? He looks like he's going to make a break for i-"

Kisame was cut off when suddenly Ruby panicked and launched a stream of white chakra from her eyes, much like she had done in the Forest Of Death. It seemed the disturbing imagery of Naruto having his legs cut off was too much for her.

He was knocked off his feet.

"What...was that?" asked Kisame.

Itachi noted that particular dojutsu seemed familiar.

At that very moment, their leader contacted them.

"Was that the Shirogan?" asked the head of the Akatsuki.

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

Now that he thought of it, the girl who was with the jinchuriki DID have silver eyes. They didn't pull the moniker "silver-eyed warriors" out of a hat.

"If that is so, you should bring the girl with us as well as the boy. We don't want her to fall into the wrong hands." noted the leader.

Itachi nodded.

"Change of plans. We're bringing the girl with us AS well as the boy." said Itachi.

"What?" asked Ruby.

"I thought we only wanted the boy..." said Kisame.

"Our leader said that we shouldn't let one of the silver-eyed warriors fall into her clutches..." answered Itachi.

"You mean her?" inquired the swordsman. There weren't many things a person like him feared...but Salem happened to be one of them.

"Yes." nodded the traitor to the Uchiha clan.

Though it wasn't normal for him to capture his opponents, Kisame decided to do so. She might prove to be a powerful weapon against Salem...though she might not be so willing to join their side considering they wished to extract her friend's tailed beast.

However, at that very moment, help arrived once again.

It was Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya the Toad Sage?!" exclaimed Kisame.

"What's he doing here?" asked Itachi.

It looked as if this mission might be a failure. At least their leader would most likely forgive them. He of all people would know how strong Jiraiya was.

"Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind!" shouted Jiraiya.

Itachi and Kisame found themselves trapped inside a giant toad's esophagus.

Naruto and Ruby looked around.

"It's so soft in here..." stated Naruto.

"Not to mention kind of creepy..." continued Ruby.

Tentacles began to grab Itachi and Kisame and began to pull them down into the toad's stomach.

Kisame cut at the tentacles along with Itachi, but more tentacles were appearing.

"Is this Gamabunta's stomach?" asked Naruto.

"Actually, no. This toad breathes fire. It doesn't spew out water." explained Jiraiya.

"I see." nodded Ruby.

"Permission to retreat?" asked Kisame.

"Permission granted." answered Itachi.

Itachi used Amaterasu to escape the toad's esophagus.

They then began to leap away.

"Who were those people?" asked Naruto. He knew that one of them was Sasuke's brother. However, there were still some questions he wanted to ask.

"Those ninja were part of the Akatsuki. They've been trying to capture jinchuriki like you for years...and now that they know you possess the Shirogan...they'll most likely try to capture you as well." stated Jiraiya.

"Why do they want us?" inquired Naruto.

"Let's just say that if they can get their hands on your tailed beast as well as your Shirogan...they'll have quite a bit of power in their hands." said Jiraiya. Their leader wanted to make peace...but he was going the wrong way around it. Violence was not the way to bring peace. The White Fang had unfortunately not learned that. Perhaps Adam Taurus never would.

Naruto and Ruby nodded. That did make sense.

"Can I ask you something else?" asked Ruby.

Jiraiya nodded.

"Yes? What is it?" inquired Jiraiya.

"When I used the Shirogan...though it affected the shark Faunus...it didn't affect Itachi's brother at all. Can I ask you why that is?" asked Ruby.

"Interesting..." stated Jiraiya. Based on what he knew, it had worked well against Orochimaru...which made sense considering how evil he was.

And yet, even though Itachi had wiped out his own clan, it didn't seem to have harmed him.

Was Itachi really as bad as his brother thought he was?

 _Meanwhile..._

Itachi wondered what would have happened if he hadn't made the choice to wipe out his entire clan.

As much as he hated having to do so, not doing so would have potentially triggered another world war.

And with both humans and Faunus in constant danger of being attacked by the Grimm, he figured a war like that would be the last thing that the world needed.

Having said that, he could never bring himself to kill his brother Sasuke, even though he ultimately decided to kill both his parents.

Perhaps it was because he would most likely not participate in the war himself, given how young he was. Though the Uchiha clan were willing to seek revenge on those that they had perceived as having wronged them, chances are that they would not involve their children in their plans of vengeance. There were always those that became just like the people that they sought vengeance on, however.

Incidentally, his partner had also betrayed his comrades...but it was for the greater good of his village. Even so, he had been exiled for it. They didn't take too kindly to treason...and unfortunately, they hadn't interrogated him first. Perhaps he wouldn't have joined the Akatsuki if he did.

Well, he could only hope that his brother would eventually become stronger to surpass him. As strong as he was, he got the feeling that he couldn't prevent a war by himself.

And besides, his health hadn't been the best lately.

He departed Patch, waiting for another chance to capture Naruto.

On the lighter side of things, chances are if they did find Naruto, they would also find Ruby as well.

Then they could capture them both and hopefully succeed in their plans.

 _Elsewhere..._

Jaune slashed at the White Fangs attacking him.

Curious, Blake picked up a sound.

It sounded like Roman's voice.

She decided to chase after him.

Hopefully if she managed to catch him she could bring him to justice.

As it turned out, he was driving the train.

He quickly noticed her.

"What's this? You know, the White Fang never seem to stop talking about you. They say that you used to be Adam Taurus's girlfriend." said Roman.

"He was a terrible love interest." noted Blake. She sometimes wondered if Adam truly loved her or if he only thought of her as a possession.

"I bet he was. He's done things that not even I'm willing to commit!" exclaimed Roman.

"I bet he has." answered the cat girl. If only Adam hadn't allowed his hatred to consume him.

Roman pressed a button on the train to set it in auto mode. He wouldn't want the train to crash...not before they reached Vale, of course.

He then threw his hat at Blake.

Blake ducked underneath it.

"I'm pretty sure you saw that in a movie..." noted Blake.

"So what if I did?" asked Roman.

Roman pulled out his cane.

He then fired several rounds at Blake.

Blake quickly backflipped to avoid the shots.

"Your nine lives can't last forever." spoke Roman.

Although...didn't Adam Taurus say that he wanted to deal with Blake himself.

Well, he didn't see the point in NOT resisting arrest.

"How many of them are there?" asked Jaune.

"I don't know, people have discriminated against the Faunus for years..." stated Kiba.

At that very moment, the train stopped.

"Huh? Why are we stopping?" asked Hinata.

The door to the train opened.

On the other side were Creeps.

"Lizard Grimm!" exclaimed Jaune.

Immediately, the Creeps entered the train and began to reinforce the White Fang.

"This is bad...they're on THEIR side!" exclaimed Hinata.

"I guess they've taken the liking to the hatred of humans they have in the hearts." noted Kiba.

Akamaru could actually smell it.

 _Meanwhile..._

Both Sasuke and Yang were being hauled away on a stretcher.

Sasuke was clutching his head while Yang was breathing weakly.

"I hope they'll be alright..." said Naruto. Sasuke's skin was even paler than Ruby's.

"I hope so too." answered Ruby. It looked as if Yang could hardly move at all.

It was a shame really. Yang was hoping to meet Tsunade. But it looked like she was going to have to recover in the hospital first.

Likewise, Naruto felt bad for Sasuke. Itachi had defeated him so easily.

He considered himself lucky that he hadn't experienced Itachi's illusions. They were the stuff of nightmares. They actually made the Grimm seem sweet and cuddly.

Although, perhaps the illusion Itachi used HAD involved Grimm.

However, Jiraiya had good news.

"I managed to find Lady Tsunade..." said Jiraiya.

"Where was she?" asked Naruto.

"My fellow apprentice Weiss found her drinking sake...I wish I thought of that before." answered the Sannin.

"Yeah..." nodded Ruby.

Jiraiya approached her.

"There you are! I was wondering if you would like to become the Hokage..." stated Jiraiya.

"I guess you weren't interested in becoming the Hokage yourself." answered Tsunade.

Jiraiya nodded. Personally he felt like he had failed the village when he let Orochimaru turn to the dark side. To his credit, he did try to persuade Orochimaru to change his ways, but at that point he had already sided with Salem.

He even had a mark indicating that he was one of her greatest followers. It was a black and white skull on his arm, reminding Salem's disciples that it was their mission to bring death to Remnant...amongst other things.

"About becoming Hokage...can I have a talk with you first?" asked Tsunade.

Jiraiya nodded. They could have a chat, just between the two of them.

 _A few minutes later..._

"Orochimaru came to me saying he wanted my help..." said Tsunade.

"Tsunade, you can't help Orochimaru!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"He said that he would resurrect my loved ones..." noted the woman. Personally she WOULD like to see them both again. At least she got to know them pretty well.

"I will admit that does sound tempting. I will admit that I myself have lost loved ones in the past...but think of it this way. Would your brother and your lover want you to assist Vale's greatest enemy?" asked the toad Sannin.

Tsunade noted that would most likely be the case. Now that she thought of it, her younger brother had admitted to have been creeped out by Orochimaru back when he was still alive.

Now she could understand why.

"I suppose they wouldn't." answered Tsunade.

"Don't help Orochimaru." stated Jiraiya.

"I'll think about it." said the slug Sannin.

Jiriaya could only hope that Orochimaru wouldn't be healed and that there wouldn't be anything stopping him from attacking Konoha again.

"What did she say?" asked Naruto.

"It's rather private..." answered Jiraiya.

"OK..." stated Ruby.

"Let's just say that I hope she does the right thing." stated the Sannin. If she doesn't, the entire city of Vale could be at risk. It was bad enough when Orochimaru attacked the first time...what if he attacked again while the village DIDN'T have a Hokage?

"She will, right?" asked the teenage girl. She had always been doing the right thing for years...though there was one time that she stole a cookie from the cookie jar. She had been scolded for it.

"Hopefully." answered Jiraiya.

 _Meanwhile..._

Blake continued to fight Roman, using shadow clones to assist her in battle.

However, Roman was prepared.

"I figured you would try that." answered Roman.

Roman pulled out a dog whistle.

He then blew on it.

The real Blake covered her ears.

"I knew this would work." stated Roman.

Roman launched fireworks at Blake, disorienting the clones.

He then threw playing cards, causing several of them to burst into black smoke.

Suddenly, they began to hear explosions.

"Hear that? That's the sound of success! It looks like Vale is about to experience terror once again!" exclaimed Roman.

"Oh no..." stated Blake. To think that Vale was still recovering from the wounds that Orochimaru had inflicted upon them.

Would they be able to stop the Grimm from destroying the city.

"Well then, I think it's about time for me to l-"

Suddenly, Blake scratched Roman in the face.

Claw marks were visible on his right cheek.

"Gah! I'm starting to see why Adam hates you so much..." stated Roman.

"I'm starting to wonder if I'll be able to keep running..." noted Blake. She had been hiding from him for a while, though she got the feeling that Adam was planning on hunting her down.

Angered by Blake, he decided to continue fighting.

 _Meanwhile..._

Cinder witnessed the explosions going off.

She concluded that her plan was coming to fruition.

"Good, Roman..." stated Cinder. Perhaps she had made a good choice in selecting Roman as one of her minions.

However, it seemed that Roman was motivated out of fear instead of respect.

Already, some Grimm were starting to seep through the cracks.

Now all that was left was to see whether stronger Grimm would appear.

Of course, for the sake of appearing to be a good Samaritan, she would have to take on some of the Grimm herself.

That was why she was wearing gloves...to hide the mark on her left arm. If Ozpin noticed it, he would most likely do his best in order to hunt her down.

But fortunately, he was not aware that she was working for Salem, unlike Hazel, who had made it clear his desire for vengeance. He had the mark on his chest. Salem had encouraged him to feel hatred for Ozpin.

Still, he might get suspicious if he noticed her using fire jutsu. He had heard rumors that something had happened to the Fall Maiden, though he wasn't quite sure what.

Like Orochimaru, Cinder had been gifted with her mark. Of course, Salem didn't have to remind her to keep on killing. She in fact had killed BEFORE coming into Salem's service, though not as much.

She would be careful not to thin the Grimm's numbers too much. If she did, she might end up foiling her own plot.

That would be embarrassing indeed.

She pulled out her bow.

 _Personally I think Cinder's a bad character...but I decided to include her anyway. She's been in a lot of fanfics so I might as well. I figured I would make some changes to the character instead of simply not featuring her in my fanfic._

 _You probably noticed that I also did the same with Hinata. I figured why not give her the chance to shine? I didn't really change Blake though, now did I? She's still on the run. She'll face Adam Taurus again...eventually._


	35. Chapter 35: Deal Or No Deal

_In this chapter, we're going to see how Orochimaru's deal with Tsunade turns out. Will she accept or decline?_

 _We shall see._

 _Oh, and we're also going to see her battle with the Fall Maiden. Did I feature this too early or is now as good of a time as any?_

 **Chapter 35: Deal Or No Deal**

"I have to admit, it was pretty impressive that you managed to drive off those two Akatsuki members..." said Weiss. She doubted that she could take them on, even if one of them was alone. Incidentally, both of them happened to be swordsmen like herself.

Although, seeing that there was an organization like Akatsuki that was hunting down the tailed beasts, she couldn't help but feel worried about Gaara. Would he be alright?

Fortunately, it seemed that the Akatsuki was rather quiet this year. Perhaps they didn't want to draw too much attention to themselves at the moment.

"I guess they realized nobody messes with one of the Legendary Sannin." remarked Jiraiya.

"I'll say! There's no man that can beat you!" shouted Naruto.

"I just hope Yang and Sasuke will be OK..." said Ruby. Based on the two members that they encountered, each of the Akatsuki members were pretty strong.

They were similar in strength to Orochimaru now that she thought of it. Although...they seemed to be enemies of Salem.

Was there a three-sided war going on?

 _Elsewhere..._

As they continued their search for the mutated Grimm, Team SINR suddenly heard the sounds of explosions.

"What's going on?" asked Shikamaru.

"I don't know!" exclaimed Ino.

The explosions seemed to have gotten the attraction of a nearby Ursa.

However, it wasn't an ordinary Ursa. It was the mutated one.

"That's our target!" exclaimed Nora.

The Ursa scratched its head in confusion. The Grimm in Mountain Glenn were heading to Vale since Mountain Glenn was vacant and an opportunity to invade Vale had presented itself...

...and yet, there were humans already in Mountain Glenn.

Perhaps instead of leaving he could stay in the abandoned city for a while and deal with the hunters and huntresses.

Hopefully this wouldn't take long...the other Grimm would likely want its help.

The Ursa charged towards the four, trying to claw them.

However, Shikamaru grabbed its hind legs with his shadow.

This aggravated the bear Grimm, and it slammed its front legs into the ground.

This produced a shockwave that headed straight towards Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was forced to dispel the jutsu.

Ino tried using Mind Destruction, but already the bear was clearing its mind.

"This bear's tough..." stated Ren.

However, Nora managed to knock it off its feet by using grenades.

Ren then proceeded to stab it in its belly using his knives.

Unfortunately, the mutated Ursa got up and slashed him with his claws.

"Ren!" exclaimed Nora.

Fortunately, Ren was alright. However, the attack wore away at some of his chakra.

The Ursa kept slashing, trying to create as much distance between his opponents as possible.

Nora and Ren opened fire on it.

The Ursa let out a roar, knocking them off their feet.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Nora.

However, as the Ursa advanced towards the two, Ino levitated some rubble.

She then launched it at the Ursa.

The Ursa clutched its head in pain.

Ino smiled. That seemed to be the effective.

Shikamaru then punched the Ursa with his shadow.

At this point, it seemed that the Ursa was getting tired.

Perhaps it shouldn't have tried to take on the foursome alone. Maybe it should have gone to attack Vale along with its kin.

Well, it was too late to do anything about it now.

Immediately, it charged towards the four of them.

However, Nora whacked it with its hammer.

It fell into the pit that Jaune had fallen into earlier.

As soon as it hit the ground, it burst into darkness.

"Did we get it?" asked Shikamaru.

"Looks that way..." answered Ino. She didn't hear the Ursa climbing up.

"I guess we can consider this mission accomplished." stated Ren.

Nora nodded.

Together, the four of them headed back to Vale.

 _Elsewhere..._

As more explosions were occurring, Jaune, Hinata, and Kiba continued fighting against the Grimm and the White Fang.

The Creeps packed a mean bite, but they weren't too difficult to kill.

Not only that, but the White Fang were beginning to lose morale.

"You think we can do this?" asked Jaune.

"I think so." nodded Hinata.

Outside, Kurenai was taking care of the White Fang that hadn't boarded the train.

She was doing pretty well. It seemed that none of the White Fang were jonin-level...except for Adam Taurus.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a chainsaw revving.

"A...chainsaw?" asked Kiba.

Akamaru was curious.

At that very moment, a white fang lieutenant entered the room.

"You've been a thorn in the White Fang's side long enough!" exclaimed the White Fang lieutenant, glaring at Jaune.

"Huh?" asked Jaune.

The White Fang lieutenant swung his chainsaw at Jaune.

Jaune quickly blocked it with his shield.

Hinata quickly hit the White Fang lieutenant with her Gentle Fist.

The White Fang lieutenant grimaced.

"I always hated aristocrats...they always treat Faunus like they're beneath them..." said the White Fang lieutenant.

"I'm not one of those people..." answered Hinata.

"Sure, you're not." retorted the chainsaw wielder.

Changing his focus, the White Fang lieutenant swung his chainsaw at Hinata.

Kiba and Akamaru attempted to hit the White Fang lieutenant with Fang Over Fang, but he blocked it with his chainsaw.

"This guy's good." noted Kiba.

Akamaru nodded in agreement.

Blake was still fighting Roman.

Her clones were effective, but Roman had a habit of hitting multiple clones at once using his explosive Melodic Cudgel.

Roman Torchwick tossed a coin.

"Huh?" asked Blake.

Shortly afterwards, she was struck by lightning.

"Aah!" exclaimed the cat girl.

Roman smirked.

"You should know when you're out of your league..." stated Roman.

Blake charged towards Roman.

"Hmm?" asked the man.

Blake slashed Roman several times across his body with her claws.

"Aah!" exclaimed Roman.

She then struck Roman on the head with Gambol Shroud.

Roman passed out. It looked as if she had managed to break through his aura.

Blake sighed in relief. Now that Roman was gone, she could focus on protecting Vale.

Curious, she heard the voice of her teammates.

"We could use a little help here!" exclaimed Kiba nearby.

Blake nodded and went to assist her friends.

Fortunately, at this point, all that was left was the White Fang lieutenant.

"You're about to wish that you never crossed the White Fang!" exclaimed the White Fang lieutenant.

Suddenly, he found himself being grabbed by several clones.

"Get off me!" exclaimed the White Fang lieutenant.

Seizing his opportunity, Kiba hit the White Fang lieutenant with Fang Over Fang again.

The White Fang lieutenant collapsed on the ground.

"Ugh..." said the lieutenant.

"Well, that was the last White Fang member..." stated Jaune.

Hinata used her Byakugan.

"I think we might have been too late to stop them though..." said Hinata.

"Oh no..." spoke Kiba.

Well, things would have been a lot worse if they hadn't done anything at all.

Chances are the White Fang would have seized the opportunity to attack the humans while they were busy occupied with the Grimm.

"I guess we'll just have to kill as many Grimm as we can..." noted Blake. The more they killed, the more lives they could save.

Together, they made their way towards Vale.

Sure enough, there seemed to be people panicking. It wasn't nearly as bad as the attack Orochimaru had planned, thank goodness, but it still looked like the civilians were in danger.

Fortunately, it seemed that help was on the way.

The CFVY theme song began to play.

"What are you listening to?" asked Blake.

"I find it to be catchy." answered Kiba.

Coco quickly mowed down several Nevermore with her gun.

This was followed by Velvet, who used her powerful legs to kick several Ursa into black smoke.

Fox was killing several Beowulves.

And of course, Yatsuhashi was using his impressive strength to take down Death Stalkers. Apparently, he could get past their impressive carapaces.

Kurenai herself was doing an impressive job at taking down the Grimm. Her powers of nature were coming in quite handy.

Fortunately, most of the Grimm attacking seemed to be rather young. If there were older ones such as Alpha Beowulves, it wouldn't bode well for the huntsmen and huntresses.

But fortunately, there were not, though some of the Nevermores WERE rather large. They seemed to grow to rather big sizes.

Eventually, they managed to take down the hordes of Grimm.

"It looks like a job well done." noted Coco.

Jaune sighed in relief.

 _A short while later..._

"You're in a lot of trouble, Roman!" exclaimed a police officer as Roman was being hauled into a police car.

"Yeah, yeah..." said Roman.

"You're lucky that nobody was seriously hurt!" shouted the cop.

"Do I get my Miranda rights?" asked the criminal.

"Whose Miranda? Is that your mother?" inquired a rookie cop.

If Roman's hands weren't handcuffed behind him, he would have facepalmed.

The White Fang lieutenant was being arrested as well, along with many White Fang members.

"It looks like we've brought Roman to justice." noted Kurenai.

"That's good...but there's something that's bothering me." answered Jaune.

"Hmm?" asked Hinata.

"Where's the lady that was with him? The one with the parasol?" inquired the swordsman.

"Her? I don't see her being arrested." answered Kiba.

"That's what bothers me..." stated Jaune.

"We'll have to hunt her down then." said Kurenai.

"I wonder where she is now..." remarked Blake.

 _Meanwhile..._

Cinder Fall was disappointed that the attack on Vale had not resulted in more casualties, but at least there was some unrest amongst the populace.

She was watching the news to see just who had been arrested.

Unfortunately, one of them was Roman Torchwick, her colleague.

She would have to come up with something much bigger if she wanted to topple the city.

Still, it was better than nothing. People seemed to be restless after the attack. At the moment, they were repaired the buildings that had been damaged by the attack, as well as the streets.

They were being filled with cement.

Since Roman was heading to jail, it looked like he wouldn't be gathering any more dust for heranytime soon. Losing him was rather disappointing, but she would move on. Maybe she could find a way to break him free from his cell, as heavily guarded as it may be.

Hopefully he wouldn't squeal on her. It would potentially blow her cover. Fortunately, it seemed that he was exploiting his right to remain silent.

Curiously, she noticed that his bodyguard wasn't amongst those that were being arrested on TV.

"So, why did you choose to side with Salem? I know that Orochimaru wanted immortality, but what did you want?" asked Emerald.

"Oh, that. Salem promised me absolute power if I became her partner. So I decided that I would do so. She said that I could grant my desires if I seized the power of one of the four maidens...in return, she wanted me to fetch one of the four relics...I suppose I'll have to investigate Beacon Academy sooner or later..." noted Cinder.

Back when she was a child, she was fascinated by the story of the four maidens. She loved the idea of having that kind of power. It certainly would have been better than her life back then.

Of course, she would have to do so while being careful not to arouse Ozpin's attention. He of all people would recognize one of the four maidens.

The legends told of four maidens that each had incredible powers. When one of them died, they transferred their powers to another young women...the cycle continued on and on and on.

Though the four maidens all represented different seasons, they each had similar powers. However, there were some differences between the four of them.

She had chosen the Fall Maiden because she figured...why not obtain the Relic of Choice?

She wanted to show people that she was independent, after all.

 _At a field...a long time ago._

The fall maiden, Amber was taking a nature walk. Since she was the Fall Maiden, she figured she might as well enjoy the local wildlife.

However, there had been something that had been bothering her lately. There had been a number of disappearances in the village that she had called home. And so far, they hadn't found who was responsible.

It was a shame really. She had done favors for those people in the past. She could only hope they were OK. However, they had been missing for a while so something told her that something bad had happened to them. Was it the Grimm?

Well, she figured she would be safe. She was the Fall Maiden. Surely the Grimm would stay away from her, right? They knew better than to try attacking a maiden head-on. Even the Goliaths were wary of attacking her...though she hadn't seen many of them outside her village.

Curious, she noticed a small girl on the road.

She found it odd that she was alone out in the wilderness. Girls that were alone in the wilderness were easy targets for the Grimm.

"Excuse me, where are your parents?" asked Amber.

The small girl paused for a moment.

"I'm an orphan..." said the small girl.

"That's too bad...if you want I could take you to my village..." answered Amber.

"Really? You mean it?" asked the girl.

Amber nodded.

She reached into her bag and pulled out an apple.

She was just about to give it to a girl...

...when suddenly the arm of a Grimm grabbed the apple.

She looked around and noticed none other than Cinder Fall. She had used a partial transformation jutsu to change her left arm into that of a Grimm's.

She was glaring at her with fury.

She watched as she smashed the apple with her palm into cider.

Curiously, the girl that she had seen earlier had vanished. Was it some sort of genjutsu?

"You pathetic excuse for a maiden. You have all the power of one of the four maidens at your fingertips, yet all you've done is allow yourself to become a servant of your village. Just looking at you sickens me." said Cinder.

"I just wanted to help others!" exclaimed Amber.

"Help others? If you really wanted to help others, why didn't you ever become a huntsman? You could take down armies of Grimm with your hands! And let you let yourself get shackled down by a bunch of villagers!" exclaimed the dark kunoichi.

"They appreciated my help..." answered the lady.

"Think of all the people you could have helped if you hadn't confined yourself to the village! But don't worry. I'm going to do you a favor. I'm going to take away your fall maiden powers and take them for myself. Maybe once you stop taking your status as a maiden for granted you'll finally take your head out of the clouds." stated Cinder.

Amber's eyes widened in shock.

"What? No!" exclaimed Amber. She had her powers for as long as she could remember. To lose her fall maiden powers would be like losing a piece of herself...much like the villagers that had gone missing.

She was starting to wonder if this mysterious young woman was somehow responsible. Had she been gathering information about her?

Cinder pulled out her bow.

"Since you've never received ninja training, let's see just how well you can do in a fight." said Cinder.

"But there's only one of you...and I have the power of the Fall Maiden at my side. Are you sure you can handle me by yourself?" asked Amber. Granted, she hadn't been in a battle before, but she got the feeling that with her maiden powers she COULD probably hold herself in a fight.

"You're right. It would be foolish for me to fight the Fall Maiden by myself. That's why I brought some friends." said the kunoichi.

Suddenly, Emerald and Mercury revealed themselves.

"Emerald Sustrai? I've heard about you...even though you live in the slums, you're quite famous!" exclaimed Amber.

"Ah yes..." answered Emerald. Her abilities with genjutsu were quite remarkable...especially since she did not possess the Sharingan. She was also a good shot with her guns, but there were more than a few huntresses who were also skilled with firearms.

"And...who are you?" asked Amber.

Mercury Black noted that he wasn't as famous as Emerald was...perhaps he could change that someday.

"Have you ever heard of Marcus Black?" asked Mercury.

"Marcus Black? They say that he was a dreaded assassin...and that he killed quite a few people..." noted Amber. However, he had eventually been discovered dead. What could have possibly killed him?

Well, she wouldn't be surprised if he had died from an alcohol overdose. He drank quite a lot of beer.

"I've killed more than a few people myself..." remarked Cinder. They were aristocrats and the like. She enjoyed making them feel powerless.

"I'm his son." answered Mercury.

"He had a son?" asked Amber.

"Yeah...he never talked about me much." noted the teenage boy. Had he been a better father, perhaps he wouldn't have killed him.

"Oh..." answered the maiden.

"Enough conversation. It's time for a new fall maiden to replace the old one." stated Cinder.

Cinder attacked first, launching arrows at Amber.

Amber quickly leapt out of the way.

Emerald quickly followed by opening fire on Amber with her guns.

Mercury followed as well, firing projectiles from his feet.

Amber formed an orange barrier to protect herself.

However, Cinder countered by once again transforming her left arm and stretching it.

She punched the barrier and shattered it.

Amber gasped.

She then transformed her other arm and punched Amber in the face.

Though this did not knock her out, it did have a negative impact on her aura.

Mercury then followed by rushing towards Amber.

However, Amber launched several fireballs at him, forcing him back.

Emerald launched bullets at Amber, but she blocked them with her ice wall.

She sighed in relief. Emerald was fast, and Mercury was even faster.

Suddenly, she was shot in the back by an arrow.

"Aah!" exclaimed Amber.

That arrow, of course, had come from Cinder.

"If I were you I'd watch your back..." said Cinder.

At this point, Amber began to use her powers to a greater extent.

She sent icicles that flew straight towards the trio.

Cinder avoided them, but Emerald and Mercury were having a hard time. Though they were powerful, they were not used to an opponent of this caliber. To think that all she ever did was assist her village when they needed it, whether it was growing crops and the like.

If she wasn't accompanying them, chances are this would be a suicide mission for the duo.

Amber then followed by summoning lightning.

This was bad for Mercury since his legs were made of metal.

"Aargh!" screamed Mercury.

"Mercury!" exclaimed Emerald.

In retaliation, Emerald fired more bullets at Amber.

However, Amber surrounded herself with a whirlwind.

The whirlwind sent the bullets right back at Emerald.

Emerald passed out on the ground, her chakra reserves depleted.

"Two down, one to g-"

Suddenly, several arrows rained from the sky.

"What?" asked Amber.

They all hit Amber and she collapsed on the ground.

"Well, none of my targets have ever given me this much of a challenge. But it looks like I'll be getting what I want..." said Cinder.

Cinder grabbed Amber with her left arm...which was once again that of a Grimm's.

"Don't worry, this will all be over in just a few minutes..." said Cinder.

Amber grimaced as Cinder drained her maiden magic.

However, before the transfer was complete, somebody intervened.

Curious, Cinder heard the sound of a crow.

With him was Kakashi Hatake.

Based on her ill luck, Cinder had a feeling who the former was.

Well, it looked like she wouldn't obtain the full power of the maiden tonight.

But at least she had acquired a good portion of it.

For now, she decided to retreat, taking the fallen Emerald and Mercury with her.

"Who was that?" asked Kakashi.

"I don't know, but something tells me they're not going to stop with the power they already drained from her. They want to become the next fallen maiden..." stated Qrow.

"The next fall maiden?" questioned the jonin. They said that the four maidens had power rivaling that of the tailed beasts.

"We should take her to Ozpin." said Ruby's uncle.

Kakashi nodded. Hopefully he could keep her safe...perhaps the person who had drained Amber would strike again.

Together, they set out towards Vale.

 _Meanwhile..._

Sienna Khan was watching the news as well.

She had to question Adam Taurus's tactics. It was doing the White Fang more harm than good.

At this rate, Adam Taurus himself would be arrested.

Personally she had advised against the attack on Vale, but Orochimaru had decided to do so anyway.

Now it only seemed like the Faunus were under more hostility than before.

On the lighter side of things, some of the Faunus had chosen to exterminate the Grimm that had made it into the city.

The humans were actually thanking them to do so.

However, she got the feeling that in order to get the Faunus to receive the recognition that they deserved, they would have to do a lot more than that.

Perhaps she should have a talk with Adam Taurus later.

 _Elsewhere..._

"So...about my bargain. Did you accept it?" asked Orochimaru.

Tsunade nodded.

With her was Shizune.

"Very well. Place your hands on my arms." answered the Sannin.

Tsunade nodded.

Orochimaru grinned.

However, as Tsunade was casting a jutsu, she was suddenly stopped by Kabuto, who flung a kunai at her head.

Tsunade quickly avoided it.

"Kabuto?" asked Orochimaru.

"She's not planning to heal you, Lord Orochimaru. She wants you dead." answered Kabuto.

Orochimaru quickly backed away from Tsunade.

"I should have known this would be too good to be true. No matter. I'm sure I can receive the healing I need if I simply extract some of your DNA samples...of course, for that, I'll need to bring you to my laboratory alive." said Orochimaru.

Tsunade got ready to fight her former friend along with her partner.

Likewise, Orochimaru and Kabuto got ready to do the same.

 _I hope you enjoyed the version of the fight I made of Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury versus Amber...strangely enough she actually did better in this fight than she did in canon...she actually KOed Emerald and Mercury. But unfortunately Cinder won in the end. Now she has half of the fall maiden powers._

 _What's going to happen if she managed to get her hands on the other half?_

 _We probably don't want to think about that._

 _Goodbye!_


	36. Chapter 36: Sannin Skirmish

_In this chapter, Orochimaru is going to fight his former teammates. Unfortunately he's outnumbered two to one...that doesn't bode well for him, does it? Well, at least it was fun to watch on the actual show even if the tension wasn't too high._

 _Oh, and Team SINR is going to return to Vale. Like Team JHAK, they've been away from the city for a while. I figured it was about time for them to return to town, wouldn't you say?_

 **Chapter 36: Sannin Skirmish**

Team SINR returned to Vale. They were surprised to see the damage that had been done to the streets.

Their eyes widened with shock. Just what had happened while they were gone?

Currently, they were being repaired. Construction work was already underway. Unsurprisingly, there were construction signs were in place. They could also see people wearing hard hats.

Hopefully people would be able to use the roads again. They needed to transport dust from place to place if they wanted to provide ad defense against the Grimm.

"What the heck happened here?" asked Ino. Was there some sort of earthquake? The signs were there...however, there also seemed to be some claw marks as well as some paw prints.

They looked somehow familiar.

Now that she thought they weren't living in the Land Of Earth. It was a bit unusual for them to have an earthquake.

"I wish I knew..." answered Shikamaru.

It occurred to him that maybe he should ask around.

Chances are he would find more information that way.

"What happened here?" asked the teenage boy.

"Were you not around when the Grimm attacked?" inquired a nearby citizen. They certainly didn't look to be particularly traumatized...though they did look like they had been working hard on something.

"We were in Mountain Glenn." explained Shikamaru.

"Mountain Glenn? Isn't that place...abandoned?" asked the man. Apparently the Grimm were too much for its residents to handle. Nowadays he heard that there were even mutated Grimm in that city these days.

Personally he didn't like the idea of experimenting on those evil creatures.

"Wait, there was a Grimm attack?" inquired Ren. That hadn't happened to Vale in some time. Usually the kingdom's defenses were able to hold them off before they reached the city borders.

That was why the Goliaths didn't bother trying to attacking the city. Chances are that they would be killed by the jonin defending it.

"That's terrible!" exclaimed Nora. She wondered what had happened. How did they manage to slip past the kingdom's defenses?

"We managed to hold them off without any casualties, thank goodness...but there was some damage done to the property. Luckily, thanks to a team of ninja they were able to apprehend the person responsible." stated the man.

The authorities had been looking for him for some time.

"Really? Which team of ninja was it?" asked Shikamaru.

"They were led by Kurenai Yuta." he explained.

"Team JHAK?" questioned Ino. Apparently they were skilled at espionage...though they were also skilled at combat. Two of them had made it to the Chunin Exam Finals.

The man nodded.

On the lighter side of things, the Grimm weren't attacking at the moment. It seemed that they had given up on attacking Vale for the time being.

It looked as if the kingdom was safe...for now.

 _Meanwhile..._

"My eyes feel funny..." said Ruby. Currently, her eyes were closed.

They had felt that way ever since her encounter with Itachi and Kisame.

"They do?" asked Naruto.

Ruby nodded.

She wondered why her eyes felt so strange.

Ruby decided to open them.

She was surprised to see Naruto's chakra.

Naturally, it was orange in color. You couldn't expect a different color from someone who wore an orange jumpsuit.

Personally she imagined her chakra to be colored red...or maybe silver.

"Your eyes are glowing silver again..." said Naruto.

Ruby rubbed her eyes and they turned back to normal.

"I guess it must be my Shirogan..." noted Ruby. It had a habit of activating whenever she was feeling despair, similar to Naruto's nine-tailed fox power activating when he was angry.

It looked as if using the Shirogan allowed her to see other people's chakra.

That might come in handy...though admittedly it didn't give her the near 360-vision a Hyuga clan member possesses.

Meanwhile, Weiss went to go check on Jiraiya.

He...wasn't exactly feeling his best.

"You alright, Jiraiya?" asked Weiss. There was something off about him. His cheeks were looking rather red.

"I'm thuh bust ninja evuh...no buddy can compah to meh!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"Well, you are one of the Sannin..." noted Weiss. Even Itachi and Kisame seemed to be afraid of him.

She noticed that several bottles of beer were on the table, and realized what was happening.

"Oh great! He's drunk!" exclaimed the huntress.

Tsunade must have gotten him intoxicated.

But why exactly would she do that?

Was she...planning on confronting Orochimaru alone?

Well, whatever her reasons were, she was going to have to make sure he kept out of trouble. She knew for one that Rock Lee was capable of doing a lot of damage when he was intoxicated.

It was a good thing that she had her teammates with her or she might not have been able to stop him.

Curious, she noticed that Jiraiya was starting to take his clothes off.

"I'm feeling sho hot...I guess I'll strip dow to muh underweh..." said Jiraiya.

"Heck no!" exclaimed Weiss.

 _Meanwhile..._

"I'm glad that we managed to repel that Grimm attack..." noted Hinata. That attack could have reopened the wound that Vale was still recovering from following the Third Hokage's death.

The Grimm had retreated back to Mountain Glenn. It looked as if they wouldn't need to worry about them...for a while.

Although...it was only a matter of time before they plotted another strike. The Goliaths would probably be the one masterminding it.

Jaune nodded. Unfortunately, it seemed that the city wasn't as well-defended now that the 3rd Hokage was gone. The Grimm probably wouldn't have attacked the city if the 3rd Hokage had still been there. He could take down an entire army of Grimm, even in his old age.

They sure hoped that they would find a replacement for the 3rd Hokage soon.

They decided to check the mission board to see if there was any more requests.

One of them was rather strange.

Apparently, rumor has it that the dead...were walking.

Also, they happened to feast on people's chakra. In other words, they were dangerous.

It was quite unusual.

They wondered what was going on. Was this some sort of horror story?

Then again, considering that they were living in a world full of Grimm. perhaps they WERE living in a horror story.

Personally they wondered what the best way to deal with the walking dead was.

Probably the best way to deal with them was to strike them in the head.

Although...not all of them were zombies.

 _Meanwhile..._

Kabuto and Shizune were both facing each other.

Shizune was firing needles at Kabuto, but he was fast enough to avoid them.

Apparently, Tsunade's apprentice had a habit of poisoning her foes. Each of the needles were coated with a nasty toxin.

It was a good thing his master Orochimaru had given him a certain extent of poison existence. He wouldn't want his heart to stop beating, now would he?

Tsunade had volunteered to fight against Kabuto along with Shizune, but Shizune insisted she deal with him himself.

Hopefully she could do the job.

Kabuto pulled out a chakra scalpel and lunged at Shizune with it.

Normally, a chakra scalpel wouldn't be used as a weapon...but there were those that could use it to cut through wood and stone.

Kabuto was one of those people.

However, Shizune was quick on her feet and managed to avoid the strikes.

Shizune fired more needles.

These needles happened to be poisonous.

Kabuto dodged most of them, but one of them pricked him in the shoulder.

Kabuto sighed. Thankfully, one needle was not nearly enough to inject enough toxins in his bloodstream to kill him...but it did make him feel a bit woozy.

He took the time to remove the poison from his body before continuing his fight.

Kabuto tossed a kunai at Shizune...but it was actually a clone.

A clone that burst into many needles.

Kabuto quickly leapt out of the way.

Shizune was sneaky.

She then followed by spewing poison from her mouth.

Kabuto's eyes widened in surprise.

It would be bad for his health if he inhaled any of that.

He leapt out of the way in time.

 _Elsewhere..._

"You think we're ready for the upcoming Vytal Tournament?" asked Sun. He was rather excited about it. Who knew how far they were going to make it?

"I'd like to think that we are." answered Neptune. Professor Port was impressed with how well they were coming along.

"Well, we do have Pyrrha on our side." noted the monkey Faunus. She had passed the Chunin Exams with flying colors. It was only a matter of time before she became a jonin.

"Yeah..." nodded the teenage boy. Nobody had ever really given her a challenge...except for Kankuro. He actually managed to bring her to her knees. Would she have to face someone like him during the Vytal Tournament?

It was pretty impressive.

They also had Cardin on their side...but he had lost to Hinata because he wouldn't keep his mouth shut. He really shouldn't have insulted Jaune right in her face.

Hopefully he wouldn't make that mistake in the future.

 _Elsewhere..._

At this point, both Shizune and Kabuto were feeling rather exhausted.

They had been fighting each other for a while.

Both of them lunged at each other...

...it was a double knockout.

Unfortunately, this left Orochimaru at a disadvantage.

His former comrade Tsunade was at full strength.

But since he had been crippled by his former mentor...not so much.

He could try summoning Manda (who was so big, he put most King Taijutus to shame)...but Tsunade would most likely counter by using Katsuyu. And Katsuyu's acid made for a good defense against would-be predators.

If he took her on now, chances are he would lose. He knew full well how strong Tsunade was. Even if he was able to injure her, chances are she would be able to heal herself. She had powerful regenerative abilities...much like her slugs.

Whatever was he to do?

Suddenly, he had an idea.

"It's over, Orochimaru!" exclaimed Tsunade. There was no way he would be able to fight her without using his arms.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." answered Orochimaru.

Orochimaru used his tongue to pull out the Sword Of Kusanagi.

Tsunade recognized that sword. It was quite famous.

He then cut his finger with the sword.

Blood began to drip from his finger.

"Whoops! Clumsy me..." said Orochimaru.

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Orochimaru was exploiting her fear of blood.

As a comrade of hers, he was aware of it. Tsunade was not exactly a vampire. Of course, Orochimaru had been compared to one due to his taste of blood and immortality...but that was besides the point.

Orochimaru then proceeded to cut one of his toes.

"I've really got to watch where I'm swinging my sword..." noted Orochimaru. "Then again, I can't use my arms..."

Tsunade's face turned pale.

Orochimaru smirked. It looked as if his plan was working.

If he kept at it, Tsunade would pass out from the trauma that she was experiencing.

To think that one of the legendary Sannin could be defeated so easily.

Then he could work on bringing her to his laboratory.

However, at that very moment, Ruby and Naruto showed up.

Orochimaru was surprised to see the two of them again.

However, he quickly recognized them.

"I remember you...you were with Sasuke in the Forest Of Death..." noted Orochimaru. Apparently, they just so happened to be his teammates, which were being led by Kakashi.

He had considered going after Kakashi's body...but he figured that since Kakashi used a lot more chakra using the Sharingan than an actual Uchiha clan member would, he would be better off using his student Sasuke instead.

Naruto glared at Orochimaru, recognizing him as the one who had assassinated the 3rd Hokage.

To think that he would be willing to murder his own teacher in order to get what he wanted.

Fortunately, he had been working on a new technique.

That technique happened to be the Rasengan.

He tossed it at Orochimaru.

However, he quickly sidestepped out of the way.

"I see that Jiraiya has been teaching you his techniques...as much as I would like to see what he's taught you, you're not my current target. Besides, you should really choose an opponent that's more better suited for your abilities." noted Orochimaru.

"As much as I would like to get revenge on him, he DOES have a point." remarked Ruby. They weren't exactly the Legendary Sannin themselves, though they had been getting significantly stronger lately.

As droplets of Orochimaru's blood began to drip on the ground, they began to summon Grimm.

"This is bad..." said Naruto.

However, Ruby remembered that she had the Shirogan.

She decided to use it to attack the Grimm.

The Grimm were visibly concerned as soon as she began to use it.

She fired several beams of light, vaporizing the smaller Grimm that were struck by them.

However, the larger Grimm were only wounded by them. She hadn't been using the Shirogan for that long, after all.

Orochimaru quickly moved out of the way upon witnessing Ruby activate the Shirogan.

"I already know to be cautious around those eyes." noted Orochimaru. He wouldn't choose Ruby as a host body, of course. While it WOULD potentially give him immunity to another silver-eyed warrior's eyes, he doubted that he could use the Shirogan against his enemies, since most of his enemies were good-hearted people.

"I'm not sure if we can take down all these Grimm alone... " noted Naruto. He was summoning many clones, but the Grimm were tearing right through them.

"You're right." answered Ruby. Though admittedly they were stronger since the last time that they had met, Orochimaru still seemed kind of out of their league, regardless of the fact that he was crippled.

More and more Grimm kept appearing.

A King Taijutu approached them.

Ruby and Naruto gasped.

However, at that very moment, Weiss fired several icicles at it.

Since Taijutu Kings were cold-blooded, this worked rather well.

"Weiss! Thank goodness you're here..." stated Naruto.

"We were in a lot of trouble..." answered Ruby.

"I can imagine." nodded Weiss. Even without his arms, Orochimaru was still a serious threat.

As it turned out, Weiss had brought Jiraiya with her.

"Ugh...my head..." stated Jiraiya.

"What happened to him?" asked Naruto.

"Tsunade got him drunk..." said Weiss.

"Speaking of Tsunade, why is she just standing there?" asked Ruby.

She looked like she had seen a ghost.

Naruto went up to her.

"Hey! Tsunade! Hey!" exclaimed Naruto.

Tsunade did nothing.

"Yoo-hoo! Are you feeling OK?" asked the blonde boy.

Still no response.

"I hope she's feeling alright..." said Naruto.

Suddenly, he noticed that for some strange reason, there was a large shadow around his feet.

"Huh?" asked the chunin.

A few seconds later, a Goliath stepped on him.

"Naruto!" exclaimed Ruby.

The stomp tore right through Naruto's chakra.

"Ow..." said the chunin.

"No! Naruto! Stay with me!" exclaimed Ruby.

Was the nine-tailed jinchuriki a goner?

However, at that very moment, Tsunade snapped out of her fear-induced paralysis.

She began to heal Naruto.

Ruby sighed in relief.

"Thanks...that Goliath basically broke all my bones..." said Naruto.

"You've got to be more careful." stated Weiss. Then again, she doubted that she could take on a Goliath...even if she did beat Gaara.

Tsunade then punched the Goliath and it burst into darkness.

"Darn. I guess she's braver than I thought...I guess it's time for me to summon Manda now..." noted Orochimaru.

Orochimaru pressed his hand against the ground and summoned Manda.

"Yes? What is it? This had better be good...I was on lunch break." said Manda.

"I'm in a fight with my two former comrades." stated Orochimaru.

"So...you want me to deal with Gamabunta? I've always held back the urge to devour him..." noted the purple snake.

"Consider him on the menu." said the Sannin.

Manda smiled.

"I heard that you were crippled during your fight with the 3rd Hokage...so much for being one of the three Legendary Sannin..." snarked Manda.

"Shut up!" exclaimed Orochimaru.

To even the playing field, Tsunade and Jiraiya also decided to bring in their signature summons.

"Ah, Jiraiya. Good to see you again...wait, is that Manda?" asked Gamabunta.

Jiraiya nodded.

"Leave him to me..." answered the giant toad.

"You do realize that Tsunade also summoned her slug summon as well, right?" asked Jiraiya.

"Oh...well, in that case...I guess she can join in." stated Gamabunta. She WAS pretty hard to digest, even for Manda.

Curious, Weiss decided to summon some toads as well.

However, she ended up summoning Gamakichi again.

"Oh, hey Gamakichi." said Weiss.

"Hello!" exclaimed Gamakichi.

She had also summoned a yellow toad.

"It looks like you also summoned my brother!" shouted the red toad.

"Isn't this one big family reunion..." noted Weiss.

Manda stared at Gamakichi and Gamatatsu.

He attempted to devour them.

Weiss's eyes widened in shock.

However, Gamabunta wouldn't be having anything about that.

"You are NOT feasting on my sons!" exclaimed Gamabunta, slashing Manda with his sword.

Manda screeched in pain.

This was then followed by Katsuyu spewing acid in his face.

Manda screamed.

He then retaliated by spewing poison.

However, Gamabunta spewed water and washed it away.

Manda then attempted to constrict his former comrade.

"I'm looking forward to devouring every inch of you, Gamabunta!" exclaimed Manda.

"The only thing you're going to be eating is my sword..." said Gamabunta.

However, Manda found himself being swarmed by Katsuyu, who had split into many different slugs. She was like a hundred slugs rolled into one package.

"Get them off me!" bellowed Manda.

Orochimaru tried to attack Tsunade with his tongue, but she grabbed it and slammed him into Manda.

"This isn't going well..." noted Orochimaru.

"You think?" asked Manda.

"Can you take us back to Ryuchi Cave?" asked the Sannin.

Manda sighed.

"Fine...but you owe me for it." stated Manda.

Immediately, an Ursa handed the unconscious Kabuto to Orochimaru.

They then began to teleport away.

"It looks like they're retreating..." said Ruby.

Naruto sighed. It looked like they were going to have to wait another day to bring Orochimaru to justice.

Still, at least he hadn't managed to get his hands on Tsunade.

Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Manda teleported away.

"You think we'll see them again?" asked Ruby.

"Possibly." answered Weiss. Hopefully when Orochimaru resurfaced, they would be ready for him.

 _A short while later..._

"I'm afraid the mission was a failure." noted Salem.

"So, Orochimaru didn't manage to heal his arms..." stated Cinder. That meant that he wouldn't be able to attack Vale again.

And to make matters worse, they had apparently chosen a replacement for the 3rd Hokage. At this rate Vale would be back up to full strength.

If they wanted to destroy Vale, they were going to have to come up with something big.

Apparently, the 5th Hokage was one of the Legendary Sannin (and by extension one of the Thrid Hokage's students)...but it wasn't Jiraiya.

Cinder had heard stories about him. He was quite a powerful ninja. Cinder couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy, though with half of the Fall Maiden's powers, she was no rookie ninja.

"Unfortunately, yes." answered Salem. "As such, I'll be leaving Vale to you for the time being."

In the meantime, perhaps Orochimaru could find another body. it would be a good alternative to using Tsunade to heal himself.

That would most unlikely do the damage that Hiruzen did to his arms...though he would most likely need to do another transfer following that one in order to perform hand seals.

She was aware of his desire to obtain the Sharingan. However, she wanted power, not knowledge. As such, she preferred obtaining the power of the maiden.

She had already obtained half of it, which she was grateful for...but why not go for the other half? She was capable of accomplishing quite a bit with half the maiden powers...but she could do a lot more with the fall maiden powers.

Currently, Emerald was drinking some beer. However, Mercury didn't seem interested in drinking any.

"You want some?" asked Emerald.

Mercury shook his head. It gave him bad memories.

"No thanks." answered the agile hunter. "My dad used to drink all the time...apparently being an assassin wore him out after a while..."

"I guess he wasn't a good father..." noted the woman. Personally she had never really gotten to know her parents. She happened to be an orphan...much like Naruto Uzumaki along with Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren.

"You bet he wasn't." answered Mercury. In many ways, his father Marcus was responsible for being the man that he was today. He wasn't as bad as Cinder's mother was though.

Rumor had it that she was responsible for murdering her own husband...so she could have all his savings for herself.

Since Orochimaru would need another body to heal from his injuries, Cinder decided that she would handle Vale for the time being.

Fortunately, Orochimaru knew a great deal about Vale...so she would be ready.

She would finish what he had started.

 _What's this? It seems that Beacon's hosting a dance...appparently they want to celebrate the upcoming Vyal tournament. But unfortunately Cinder is going to take advantage of it._

 _On the plus side, Tsunade is now the 5th Hokage. I bet the 3rd Hokage is happy that one of the students is now Hokage...and it isn't Orochimaru. Haha._

 _In the next chapter, there's going to be a dance...celebrating the election of the 5th Hokage._


	37. Chapter 37: Party Crash

_In this chapter, our heroes are going to attend a party. Why is there a party you ask? To celebrate the election of the 5th Hokage! I figured now was a good time to include the events of RWBY Volume 2, Chapter 7. What about you?_

 _Of course, Cinder's going to seize the chance to do a little infiltration...just like on in the show. However, it won't be Ruby chasing after her._

 _Who is it, you ask? Read the chapter!_

 **Chapter 37: Party Crash**

With the 5th Hokage chosen, it looked as if Vale was once again protected from Grimm attacks. They would be hesitant to attack while a Hokage was present.

Of course, there had been many casualties during the invasion of Vale...so they would need to be cautious as to how many ninja they sent out on missions. Some of the Grimm were smart enough to monitor Vale to see how many ninja were leaving the village.

Now that the 5th Hokage had been chosen, they were planning to throw a party. Now seemed as good as time as any to celebrate. They wouldn't forget about the 3rd Hokage though, now would they? That was what the Hokage Monument was for.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before Tsunade was added to the Hokage Monument. People wanted to remember her as the Hokage, not just one of the three Legendary Sannin. Although, Jiraiya didn't have a statue dedicated to him...at least not yet.

Team JHAK were planning on attending. Hopefully they would let Blake in even though she was a Faunus. Sometimes Faunus weren't invited to special events because they were...Faunus.

The world of Remnant would be a lot better place if it didn't contain racism. Granted, they would still have the Grimm to deal with, but it would still be a better place nonetheless. Racial hatred was one of the things that attracted them in the first place, after all.

Jaune and Hinata noticed that Pyrrha seemed worried about something.

They decided to ask her about it.

"What's the matter?" asked Jaune.

"I'm worried that I might not find a dance partner..." said Pyrrha, a look of concern on her face.

"Are you kidding? If you don't find a partner to dance with, I'll wear a dress!" exclaimed Jaune. His sisters happened to have a lot of dresses, incidentally.

"And I'll wear what he was going to wear!" agreed Hinata. Personally she thought that she wouldn't have trouble finding a dance partner considering that she beat up Cardin...people were pretty impressed by that. She wasn't nearly as famous as Pyrrha though. Pyrrha could take down Cardin in her sleep...as much as he didn't like to admit it.

"Alright then." said Pyrrha, her worried expression changing into a happy one. She was still a bit concerned, however.

Of course, Nora already knew who she wanted to have as a dance partner.

"Hey Ren? Do you want to go to the dance with me?" asked Nora. She was really hoping that he would say yes.

"Sure." nodded Ren. They had known each other since they were children, so Nora DID seem like an ideal dance partner. He could have chosen Ino but she was a bit loudmouthed for his tastes.

"Yes!" cheered Nora. She was so happy that Ren was going to dance with her. Now she wouldn't have to cry like a baby.

Personally she wondered if Shikamaru was going to the dance. Considering what a slacker he was, perhaps he wouldn't be interested in dancing.

Curiously enough, it seemed that Penny was present, though there were Atlas personnel accompanying her. Typically she didn't leave her father often because he wanted to keep the fact that she was a robot hidden.

Still, she had expressed her desire to dance, so her father decided to let her go...though she wouldn't be going alone, that was for certain.

Naturally, she was doing the robot. She was rather good at it, though she didn't usually attend parties.

Ruby quickly noticed her. She was rather excited to see her again.

"Hi, Penny!" exclaimed Ruby. She was glad that she could make it to the party...even though she didn't seem to be in public much.

"Hello, Ruby." said Penny, waving her hand. She was happy that her friend Ruby was at the party as well. Of course, it would be surprising if she wasn't there's given the large amount of guests.

Curious, Jaune and Hinata noticed that Pyrrha was alone. She looked rather upset.

Feeling rather compassionate, Jaune and Hinata decided to check on her to see what was troubling her.

Pyrrha let out a sigh.

"Did you...not find a dance partner?" asked Jaune. He was quite surprised at the occurrence. Apparently not as many people were willing to dance with Pyrrha as he thought.

"I'm afraid not. They apparently didn't think they were worthy to dance with me..." stated Pyrrha. At the rate she was going, she would be a jonin in no time.

Unfortunately, her teammates had already found dance partners.

Hinata sighed.

"I see..." nodded Jaune.

"Well, you know what that means..." stated the Hyuga kunochi.

The Arc swordsman nodded.

The two of them went to their lockers.

 _A few minutes later..._

"Wait, you actually went through with your bet? You didn't have to do that!" asked Pyrrha. Personally she thought that Jaune had been joking the entire time.

She began to laugh.

As it turned out, Jaune hadn't been joking...and he was indeed wearing a dress...and Hinata was wearing a tuxedo.

"An Arc doesn't go back on their word!" exclaimed Jaune.

"Neither does a Hyuga!" shouted Hinata. Their families were alike that way.

Cardin was tempted to laugh as well, but he decided that it wouldn't be a good idea with Hinata around. He remembered the Chunin Exams preliminaries all too well.

One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to bully Jaune after that. Hinata had eyes like a hawk...and he should know that. He was a bird tamer.

Blake and Kiba wondered what was going on. Their teammates were dressed rather strangely. Blake of course had chosen to wear a black dress. Kiba thought that she looked rather pretty in it.

Kiba had chosen to bring Akamaru with him. He wouldn't be eating anything laid out on the table, of course...just what Kiba gave him. He was careful to take care of Akamaru, even if unlocking his aura meant he would live longer than regular dogs.

"Arf?" asked Akamaru. Since when did Jaune wear woman's dresses? He usually dressed rather masculine...although to be fair he did scream like a little girl whenever he got scared.

Why were both Jaune and Hinata crossdressing?

Well, they wouldn't judge them.

Fortunately, Blake was allowed to attend the party since she had proven herself loyal to her village, even though she was a Faunus. For once she wasn't being discriminated against. Perhaps they wanted to thank her for helping to apprehend Roman Torchwick.

However, Blake wondered if Roman would eventually break out. He didn't seem to be the type of person who would sit idly and wait out a prison sentence.

He wasn't the type of person to spill secrets about his employer either. Perhaps he was worried that his employer would hunt him down if he did so? That would be her guess.

Suddenly, they noticed three familiar people entering the room.

They were the Sand Siblings, otherwise known as the children of the Fourth Kazekage...who was now deceased.

"The Sand Siblings are here?" asked Naruto. Personally he wasn't expecting ninja from Atlas. He was under the impression that they were celebrating the election of the 5th Hokage.

Although...Weiss was from Atlas, and she was at the party as well. Her father didn't seem to be around though. Was he in some sort of business meeting? That would be his guess.

"Apparently." nodded Ruby. They did have an alliance with their kingdom. It was good that two kingdoms were able to put aside their differences even if the other three kingdoms had yet to do the same.

Rarely was there all-out war (much like the Konoha Crush), but conflict between the other kingdoms wasn't exactly unheard of.

Weiss was rather happy to see Gaara again.

Currently, Naruto was drinking some fruit punch.

"That's some fine fruit punch!" exclaimed Naruto.

Yang was drinking some fruit punch as well.

She decided to give Naruto a warning...a warning that he shouldn't take too seriously.

"Careful how much you drink Naruto. If you drink too much, you might end up passing out...and then you'll wake up in a bathtub full of ice with one of your kidneys cut out. NAKED!" exclaimed Yang.

Naruto gasped. He didn't want to be drugged and have one of his kidneys stolen...and for people to see him naked. And that bathtub sounded pretty cold.

Suddenly, Yang began to laugh.

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just kidding. To be honest that kind of fails the logic test, doesn't it?" inquired the blonde girl. Some rumors were crazy...though not necessarily unbelievable.

Naruto nodded. Now that he thought of it, that did sound rather strange. Wouldn't they need a huge bin of ice to store the kidney in? And why would they put him in a bathtub full of ice? They could at least give him a rubber ducky.

Besides, how would the kidnapper make their getaway? There were a huge amount of people at this party. And there were also security cameras in the building as well.

"Some people come up with crazy urban legends, don't they?" asked Naruto.

"They sure do." nodded Yang.

Weiss noticed someone suspicious at the party.

She decided that she would follow them.

There was something off about this mysterious lady.

Was...she plotting something bad?

As soon as she noticed she was being followed, she fired an arrow at Weiss.

Weiss ducked out of the way in the nick of time. Her aiming skills were impressive. If her reflexes hadn't been fast enough, there was the possibility that she might have been skewered, even with her chakra protecting her from harm.

Just what huntress was she? She clearly wasn't a genin. In fact, she seemed to be around jonin level...and then some.

Well, at least that narrowed down the suspect list somewhat. It took a good amount of time before a ninja could become jonin.

Meanwhile, Kankuro noticed Pyrrha sitting by herself.

"Did you not find a dance partner?" asked Kankuro. She looked rather lonely.

Pyrrha nodded. It seemed that her popularity was giving her a hard time. Being famous wasn't always good.

"Well, ever since I fought you and almost won...I've been enjoying a lot of newfound popularity. I suppose I might have found a way to repay you..." stated Kankuro.

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.

"Will you be my dance partner?" asked Pyrrha.

"Why not? What do you think I would do, dance with one of my puppets?" inquired Kankuro.

"They do seem kind of lifeless." answered the teenage girl.

Kankuro nodded...though he did consider his puppets to be a work of art. They were pretty efficient at combat.

Kankuro began to dance with Pyrrha.

Hinata and Jaune quickly noticed.

"Does this mean we don't have to dress like this anymore?" asked Jaune. He wasn't sure.

"I don't know. You look good in that dress!" exclaimed Hinata.

"You look good too!" answered the swordsman.

Both Hinata and Jaune began to laugh.

As it turned out, Sun was dancing with Temari.

"Are you alright dancing with a Faunus?" asked Sun.

"I don't see what's the point of mistreating Faunus...it only causes them to fight back against us." noted Temari. A lot of tragedy could be avoided if humans and Faunus could simply learn to get along.

Meanwhile, Cinder Fall was continuing her espionage mission.

It was unfortunate that she had been discovered, but she could make a hasty getaway when needed.

However, she had to be careful not to kill Weiss Schnee. People wouldn't take the disappearance of the Schnee heiress lightly.

She just needed to slow her down.

Unlike Orochimaru, she hadn't really shown interest in obtaining all jutsu in existence. She preferred quality over quantity. Why learn a bunch of low-class jutsu when she could learn the most powerful jutsu in existence?

It would still take a long time to learn those jutsus...but not as long as learning all the jutsu in existence. Thus, she probably wouldn't need immortality in order to obtain them.

Immortality might have its perks though. If she kicked the bucket, the maiden powers would pass to someone else.

Someone who she likely wouldn't consider as worthy. Maidens had a habit of helping others...and making others dependent.

She wouldn't tolerate that.

Weiss continued to pursue Cinder...

...but she found her progress being blocked by a wall of fire.

Weiss was rather urprised at the occurrence.

She looked for a fire extinguisher, but she couldn't seem to find one.

Weiss then tried using a water jutsu, but it seemed that the wall of fire wouldn't be extinguished so easily.

She sighed. It looked as if she wouldn't be able to pursue this mysterious woman.

Well, she might as well tell everyone what she saw.

She would start with her jonin instructor, Might Guy.

He would want to know about this mysterious lady.

Fortunately, he assured her that ninja would be sent to investigate.

Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any sign of her.

Whoever this lady was, she had hidden her tracks pretty well.

Currently, she was dancing with Mercury so that she didn't stand out amongst the crowd.

Everything was going according to plan.

Since she had informed everyone of the infiltrator, she decided to look for a dance partner.

Gaara didn't seem to have a dance partner...since people seemed frightened of him.

To be fair, he had some rather nasty things. He had changed his ways, however.

Weiss decided she would dance with him. Though she wasn't a jinchuriki herself, they weren't exactly very different people.

Some people were looking at her curiously, but she decided not to let that get to her.

 _Meanwhile..._

At Orochimaru's laboratory, Orochimaru was concocting a stealth mission of his very own. However, compared to Cinder, it wouldn't culminate in anything grandiose. After his attack on Konoha he was going to plot something a lot smaller, yet something that would work in his favor anyways.

While Cinder was plotting the destruction of Vale, Orochimaru was planning to acquire another host body.

However, he wouldn't be going on this mission by himself.

"I think it's about time to bring Sasuke to me, wouldn't you say, Kabuto?" asked Orochimaru. Since "negotiating" with Tsunade had failed, they needed to try a different tactic.

Granted, Orochimaru probably wouldn't be able to perform hand seals even after he changed bodies...but he could work around that. A lot of his techniques didn't require them, though this was in part due to his large amounts of skill as a ninja.

Kabuto nodded. It was almost time for him to switch bodies regardless, which he did every three years to cheat death.

He knew who he would send on this mission.

It was his bodyguards, the Sound Four.

Their names were Jirobo, Kidomaru, Tayuya, and Sakon and Ukon.

And yes, even though there were technically five of them, they were known as the Sound Four. Why? Because Sakon and Ukon were capable of entering each other's bodies due to their unique kekkei genkai. They were also able to enter other people's bodies as well...but this was only when they activated the second stage of their cursed seals.

Each of them were very powerful ninja. Not comparable to Orochimaru himself, but they were strong in their own right. In fact, each of them were about jonin-level...and then some.

As such, Orochimaru decided to select them for this mission. It was a rather important mission.

Granted, if obtaining Sasuke didn't work out, he could always use one of his prisoners.

But he would rather have Sasuke.

Fortunately, the Sound Four could be rather sneaky when they wanted to be...though they would rather kill people instead of being stealthy. Especially their leader Sakon.

They in fact used to have a fifth member known as Kimimaro who was strong enough to put them all to shame, but he was currently sick. Deathly sick. Perhaps he had caught an illness from all the time that he had spent in a jail cell until his clan called upon him.

Sending him on this mission probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Together, the Sound Four were sent to retrieve Sasuke.

They would want to do it quickly. The necrosis was slowly killing Orochimaru.

He could probably be revived using their cursed seals...but they didn't want to take that risk.

So, off to Vale they went.

 _It looks like Cinder decided to do a bit of computer hacking. Don't try that at home, kids! It's illegal! Not that it would stop Cinder, of course._

 _Try not to get drugged and have your kidney stolen! I'm just kidding, just like Yang was._

 _Unfortunately, it seems that the Sound Four are being sent after Sasuke while Cinder's plans against Konoha are in motion. They're not going to attack the village, thank goodness...but if Orochimaru gets his hands on Sasuke, Konoha could be in trouble. He's very talented for a genin, after all._


	38. Chapter 38: The Sound Four

_In this chapter, the Sound Four will appear. You know, Orochimaru's bodyguards. You think he would have picked someone older...then again, Orochimaru wants a teenage boy to be his body. Perhaps he prefers having young people as vessels. He would have picked Kimimaro but he's sick as a dog...a dog that's lived in his own filth for five years or so.  
_

 _I figured it would be appropriate for Blake to try to reason with Sasuke, considering she knows Adam Taurus pretty well._

 **Chapter 38: The Sound Four**

Sasuke was training himself, slashing an illusion of his brother.

Hopefully he would be able to slay him for real someday. It didn't have to be today, but he was looking forward to it.

However, he was noticed by Blake.

It seemed that she wanted to talk to him about something.

She suspected that Sasuke was training himself to get revenge on his brother. She had heard that Sasuke had lost his clan due to the actions of his brother. People didn't seem to know why he would do such a thing. She heard that the group Itachi was part of wished to bring peace to the world, so she had to question his motives regarding that grisly action.

However, that seemed to be the only thing he thought about lately.

"Are you sure you should be letting your hatred consume you?" asked Blake.

"Why shouldn't I be seeking revenge on my brother? Do you know what he's done?!" exclaimed Sasuke.

"I will admit that he sounds like a terrible person based on what he did to his own clan...but I happen to know someone who let his hatred consume him. His name is Adam Taurus. Have you heard of him?" inquired the teenage girl.

Now that Sasuke thought of it...hadn't Adam Taurus assisted Orochimaru in attacking Vale?

"He was angry at the humans for mistreating Faunus, but instead of simply protesting, he figured he would engage in violence. He kept on doing so until he decided to go to war against them. And in the process, he became everything about them that he hated...though I'm not sure if he's actually aware of that." noted Blake.

He was no better than the humans who had wronged him at that point. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he was going to learn the error of his ways. Blake for one would never engage in what he had done...though she was no stranger to Faunus discrimination herself.

"He also wants revenge on me more than he wants revenge on the humans...apparently, he thinks that I'm a traitor to the White Fang...and he has a special hatred for people who betray him..." noted Blake. In her defense, she felt like the White Fang were going too far.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Sasuke was paying much attention to her.

She sighed and decided to leave.

As she did so, she encountered Kakashi.

"Did you talk to Sasuke about Adam Taurus? I was going to discourage him from continuing down his current path...but it seems you beat me to the punch." noted Kakashi. Though he did think that what Itachi did was wrong, he couldn't help but worry about Sasuke. He could tell that he had hatred in his heart...hatred that could potentially corrupt him.

"He didn't listen to me, unfortunately." noted Blake. It seemed he was too focused on killing his brother.

"It's better to fail a mission than it is not to put any effort into it." remarked Kakashi. Though he had failed missions before, it wasn't through lack of trying. People respected him for his persistence. There would have been greater consequences if he hadn't put effort in his missions, after all.

 _At night..._

As Sasuke continued his training, he realized someone was approaching him.

However, he wasn't sure who.

He looked around, and discovered that there were four teenagers nearby.

He could tell that they were servants of Orochimaru.

However, they were clearly not genin. They were way too powerful for that.

"What the-" exclaimed Sasuke.

Sakon and Ukon attacked him.

"Who are you?" asked the teenage boy. Surely there had to be a reason for them attacking him. Did his brother send them?

"Someone whose willing to give you an offer...you want revenge on your brother, do you not?" asked Sakon and Ukon. Ironically, he and his brother were actually on pretty good terms...though this did not necessarily mean that they bickered. Ukon wasn't the type of person to play with his food before eating it, but Sakon was.

"How do you know about that? You don't even know me!" exclaimed Sasuke.

"Yes, we do not know who you are...but our master does. Remember him? He mentioned that you wanted revenge against your brother so that had wronged you so deeply." asked Tayuya.

Sasuke realized she was referring to Orochimaru.

"It's a shame we're not on a killing mission..." complained Sakon.

"Kimimaro wouldn't complain...but you never liked him." pointed out Tayuya. He was never as bloodthirsty as the rest of them.

"He did almost kill me..." pointed out Kidomaru. His webs did practically nothing. It was pretty impressive how easily he could break out of the webs. Even Jirobo couldn't break out of them that easily, and they all knew how strong he was.

"Yes, I do...he gave me the cursed mark on my neck..." said Sasuke. Though it had happened some time ago, he could still remember the moment fairly well...if only due to the fact that Orochimaru was the type of person to give people nightmares.

Now that he thought of it, hadn't he tried to destroy his village?

Perhaps he should be wary of trusting him.

Then again, his brother did wipe out his clan.

And knowing him, he would probably try to kill more innocents. He had joined the Akatsuki, along with his partner Kisame who simply loved the thrill of combat.

"You're not the only one, kid." said Jirobo.

Jirobo revealed the cursed seal on his wrist.

The others revealed their cursed seal as well.

Sasuke was actually surprised to discover this.

"You also have cursed seals?" questioned Sasuke. Orochimaru seemed to have a particular fixation on him, but perhaps he had decided that Sasuke shouldn't be the only one to have one. He had noticed that neither Kabuto's underlings or the Sound Genin had possessed them, indicating that they were special, but perhaps Orochimaru had decided that they were strong enough to have them.

Perhaps it would explain why these four seemed rather...crazy.

Wait, were they actually four of them? There was something off about their leader. What was sticking out from the back of his neck?

"Level 2 Cursed Seals, to be precise." said Tayuya.

"There's a second stage?" inquired the boy. If so, he hadn't unlocked it yet.

"Yes...come with us, and we'll give you greater power..." nodded Kidomaru. Of course, he would be with Orochimaru from there. Chances are even if Orochimaru taught him everything he knew, he still wouldn't be able to beat Itachi. But it would definitely make him stronger.

Sasuke noted that increasing the power of the cursed seal would assist him in killing Itachi.

However, Kakashi had advised him not to draw power from the seal, as it could continue potentially drive him into murderous insanity.

Now that he thought of it, perhaps the Sound Four had already been drawn into murderous insanity. They did seem to enjoy killing people.

Just what had Orochimaru done to them? Had he used them as guinea pigs or something? It wouldn't be the first time that he had done so.

Still, regardless of how crazy these particular followers of his had become, siding with Orochimaru seemed like a necessary evil in getting his revenge. His clan wouldn't be able to rest in their graves if he did nothing, after all.

He decided he would do just that.

However, he was noticed by Yang.

Sasuke was surprised to see her.

"Sasuke? What are you doing?" asked Yang.

"I'm leaving." said Sasuke.

"Where are you going?" inquired the blonde.

"I'm going to see Orochimaru." explained the brunette.

Yang's eyes widened.

"Are you saying...you're betraying your homeland?!" exclaimed Sasuke's teammate.

Sasuke nodded.

Yang could not believe what she was hearing. To be fair, he wasn't betraying his homeland simply for greater power...which was something Cinder Fall would probably do.

"Don't do this!" shouted the blonde.

"It's the only way to kill my brother." stated the brunette.

"There has to be another way." said the blonde.

Unfortunately, Sasuke ignored her and walked away.

Yang didn't know what to do.

Should she try to stop him?

She got the feeling there was no reasoning with him.

However, at the very moment, the Sound Four arrived on the scene.

They were rather satisfied that Sasuke had decided that he would go to see Orochimaru.

"So, you decided to take the deal? Very well. Come with us...we'll make sure that Vale doesn't interfere with your journey." said Sakon.

"If anyone tries, we'll know what to do." spoke Tayuya.

She pulled out her flute.

The four of them left with Sasuke.

The foursome would have to be fast...Orochimaru's necrosis was only getting worse.

Could they make it?

Yang realized she had to inform Tsunade immediately.

If Orochimaru got his hands on the Sharingan, he'd be an even bigger threat than he was now. He'd be able to copy other ninja's techniques, which would allow him to use them against his foes in the future.

He had already learned many, many jutsu (though not nearly all the jutsu in existence), so it would really be in their best interests if they at least tried to stop him.

Besides, she didn't want him to steal his body.

She decided she needed to inform Tsunade.

As she did so, she burst into tears.

"Yang? Is something the matter?" asked the Fifth Hokage.

She could tell by her facial expression that she was shocked out of her mind.

"Perhaps you should take a deep breath first." acknowledged Tsunade.

Yang just did that.

She then explained the situation.

"It's Sasuke! He's betrayed Vale!" exclaimed Yang.

Tsunade sighed.

"I had a bad feeling he would." answered Tsunade. His obsession with getting revenge on his brother Itachi had been getting dangerous. He was the only one of his team not to make it to chunin, so perhaps that contributed to him wanting to be stronger.

"Is there anything you want me to do?" asked the blonde.

"You need to gather five genin...I would say you only have about thirty minutes. Unfortunately, we don't have many chunin or jonin...so we can't send them after him." said Tsunade.

Yang nodded. It was unfortunate that they couldn't send anyone better than genin on this mission, but it was better than nothing.

She just hoped this didn't turn out to be a suicide mission.

In addition, she was reluctant to bring Sasuke to justice for treason...but she couldn't let Orochimaru steal his body, either. It'd be pretty horrible to lose your own body...which could potentially result in him losing his mind as well.

So, she went to gather as many genin as she could find.

Something told her this was going to be their most dangerous mission yet...they weren't dealing with mere Beowulves this time. In fact, they were dealing something that was worse than Alpha Beowulves.

It looked as if they were going to encounter experienced killers.

Still, if they had a chance to save Sasuke, she was going to take it.

However, she wasn't going to go alone. That would most likely be a suicide mission.

She would need other people to give her a hand.

Yang found Jaune and decided that he would make for a good leader. Just in case, she would bring Ruby along as well. She made a good leader as well when Kakashi wasn't present.

"Sasuke's betrayed the city? Oh no..." said Jaune.

Jaune was able to find Kiba...though he wasn't sure where Blake and Kiba were.

Yang managed to find Ruby as well as Naruto.

Perhaps they would be fine with just five of them. It would be risky, but still.

Maybe it wasn't too late to reason with him.

Either way, they had to move quickly. Considering how many soldiers Orochimaru was able to bring with him during the invasion of Vale, Otagakure actually wasn't too far from the city.

Though they had ultimately won the war (at the cost of the Hokage himself, among others), it was still doubtful that they could take on Orochimaru by themselves. Kabuto wouldn't be impossible but he would be an extremely difficult opponent even if they did win against him...which would wear them down severely and prevent them from rescuing Sasuke.

"Are you ready? This might be our most challenging mission yet..." noted Naruto.

"If it's for Sasuke, I think it's worth it!" exclaimed Ruby.

The five of them set out to rescue Sasuke.

 _Meanwhile..._

Cinder pulled out a scroll and asked Orochimaru.

"Is Operation Sharingan going well?" asked Cinder.

"Yes...unfortunately, I can't talk for long." answered the Sannin.

She had considered for a moment giving Orochimaru her body...but their bodies seemed totally different. She wasn't sure if he would want it.

To be fair, she was pretty powerful.

Besides, Orochimaru had a fixation on the Sharingan, and he could only perform the jutsu once every three years. Even the snake Sannin had limitations to his abilities, though he didn't exactly have a lot of them.

Still, hopefully the mission would be a success.

Orochimaru was about to become stronger...which would help her mistress's plans.

Just in case, she was coming up with a plan to invade Vale of her own. If the mission was a success, Orochimaru would still need time to recover after obtaining a new host body. How many had he cycled through the years? It was similar to the maidens, now that she thought of it...and she was one of them.

Hopefully she could succeed in the work that Orochimaru had failed to complete...if only just.

 _Oh no! Sasuke left with the Sound Four! Can they get him back? Probably not, but they're still going to try._

 _Will Sasuke accept the Sound Four's invitation? If you've watched the anime you probably know the answer. I figured Yang and Ruby will accompany Naruto on the mission though even Sakura didn't in canon. To be fair she did try to stop Sasuke from leaving but that didn't work. I've made my decision as to who they should fight.  
_

 _By the way, are you wondering why I made Naruto's fox summon female? Well, Naruto had a male fox living inside him so I figured I would go with a vixen...it's possible to make a character different from another one by making them the opposite gender but believe it or not girls are not always a whole different species. Ever heard of opposite gender twins?_

 _And yes, I compared Sasuke to Adam. You can likely guess why after reading this._


	39. Chapter 39: Yang Goes Berserk

_In this chapter, Yang will go berserk! Can you guess why?_

 _Oh, and the heroes are going to try to get Sasuke back from the Sound Four...considering that the Sound Four are Orochimaru's personal bodyguards...that's not going to be a small task._

 _Will they succeed? Well, they'll try at least. We don't want them to throw the towel, now would we?  
_

 **Chapter 39: Yang Goes Berserk**

The five heroes pursued the Sound Four.

However, they were quick to stop themselves.

Not only were there Grimm in the forest, but there was spider webbing on the floor as well.

Upon closer inspection, it didn't seem like they were rigged to launch kunai at them.

However, it would still be best if they didn't cross them.

Jaune theorized that they would set off an alarm of some kind. They didn't want to alert the Sound Four that they were coming for Sasuke, now would they?

Quickly, he began to cut the webbing.

Curious, Naruto tried doing the same with a kunai.

However, he couldn't seem to cut through it.

It seemed that the spider webbing wasn't the work of the Black Widows nearby. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so difficult to cut through.

If it were webbing produced by an Alpha, things would be different. But they didn't see any Alphas nearby. It was weird. Where was the alpha?

There were also Golems as well...as well as King Taijutus.

The Golems of course looked as if they were made of stone...and they were certainly as hard as stone. However, they were still black and had red eyes, like the other Grimm. They were also rather strong, though not as strong as Yang was, thankfully.

And there were also Sirens. They had a habit of getting their foes to lower their guard using their singing voices (which induced relaxation), then of course slay them. They were humanoid but otherwise didn't look much different from other Grimm. They had long white hair though.

This was especially bad for Kiba, since he had enhanced hearing.

However, Yang and Ruby didn't seem too phased. Perhaps these Grimm were designed for men, not women.

"Why were all these Grimm standing here?" questioned Ruby. She was under the impression that they would look for humans...or at least keep a close eye on them. It was best to know your enemy, after all.

"Yeah...it's weird...something's not right here." answered Yang.

Well, they could dwell on it later.

Fortunately, they managed to get past the strings.

Eventually, they found a barrel, as well as the Sound Four.

Currently, they were resting. Perhaps they weren't the first people to try to take them on.

Jaune noticed that the webbing was coming out of Kidomaru's fingers. Perhaps he was using it to detect enemies.

Fortunately, he was still sleeping along with the other three members of the group.

Well, might as well use it to their advantage.

Slowly, Ruby grabbed the barrel and began to walk away...

...but she ended up stepping on one of Kidomaru's strings.

A string that Jaune had forgotten to cut.

"Uh-oh." said Ruby.

"I knew I was forgetting something..." remarked Jaune.

This alerted Kidomaru...and by extension the other three members.

"We're in trouble..." spoke the teenage girl.

"Hands off the barrel!" demanded Tayuya.

Sakon and Ukon approached Ruby and took the barrel away from her.

"You should know better than to take things that don't belong to you." said Sakon.

"Well, I did swipe a cookie from the cookie jar once." admitted Ruby.

The five of them attempted to pursue Sakon, but Jirobo was too quick for them.

"Earth Dome Prison!" exclaimed Jirobo.

The five of them found themselves imprisoned inside an earth dome.

Sakon handed the barrel to Kidomaru.

"Enjoy your feast, fatso." said Tayuya.

"Whatever." answered Jirobo.

"Well, this cannot be good." remarked Yang.

"We're trapped!" bellowed Naruto.

"How do we get out?" asked Kiba.

"You don't! You're going to die in there!" shouted Jirobo.

Ruby gulped.

Curious, Jaune tried scratching the earth with his sword.

However, he found that it could regenerate.

"This isn't good...the dome can repair itself." said the blonde.

"Did you think it would be that easy?" asked Jirobo.

"Not really, no." answered Jaune.

"If the dome can repair itself, how do we get out?" inquired Ruby.

Suddenly, she started to feel strange.

"I'm feeling kind of woozy..." noted Ruby.

"Me too..." nodded Naruto.

"Wait, what did the lady with the hat say?" inquired the brunette.

Didn't she say something about a feast?

"Oh god, he's feasting on my chakra!" bellowed Ruby.

Jirobo laughed.

"Your chakra happens to taste like strawberries..." noted the glutton.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" asked the brunette. Apparently, she really WAS what she ate.

Kiba considered giving them food pills to restore their chakra...but as their situation stood, that was prolonging the inevitable.

Akamaru whimpered.

Naruto panicked and tossed a bunch of kunai in different directions.

However, the earth dome regenerated and began to spit them back out, one by one.

"We're doomed..." said Naruto.

However, Jaune noticed something that Naruto hadn't.

For some strange reason, the dome was regenerating slower in some places than it was in other places.

Now that thought of it, the wall across them was regenerating pretty slowly.

"Hmm..." said Jaune.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Try targetting the wall over there." spoke the blonde.

Kiba nodded.

Sure enough, that actually seemed to be effective. It was still regenerating, but still.

"I think we might have an escape plan." noted Ruby.

"Yeah...but to make sure, we should have someone who is really strong target the wall." noted Naruto.

"Allow me." said Yang.

Yang punched the wall repeatedly, causing it to crumble.

Eventually, they had a way to escape.

"Go, go, go!" shouted Jaune.

Fortunately, they were able to escape before the wall regenerated.

Jirobo's eyes widened in surprise.

"How did you get out?!" exclaimed Jirobo.

"Persistence." explained Ruby.

"No matter. I'm still going to crush you like bugs!" shouted the glutton.

"Can we talk about this? I have a dog back home..." asked the brunette. She could summon him at any time, but still.

"Do I look like I care?" asked Jirobo.

Ruby looked at Jirobo.

"No...no, you don't." answered the brunette.

Jirobo charged towards the five of them.

He punched Naruto and sent him flying.

"Aahhh!" exclaimed Naruto.

He landed in a heap.

"Oof..." said the blonde boy.

Jirobo then followed by kicking Ruby.

"Aah!" exclaimed Ruby.

"This guy's tough." noted Jaune.

"I'll say!" exclaimed Kiba.

Akamaru could sense a lot of chakra emitting from him...including the chakra that he had stolen.

However, there was more chakra emitting from his teammates.

"Arf! Arf!" exclaimed Akamaru.

"This guy's the weakest member of the group?!" bellowed Kiba.

"Surprised?" asked Jirobo.

Kiba's face turned white as a sheet. If Jirobo truly was the weakest member of the group, then they were in big trouble...like the time that Akamaru had peed on the rug.

Well, they couldn't leave Sasuke to his fate...a fate that he himself had chosen.

Kiba pounced on Jirobo, but he threw him off.

"I'm going to enjoy eating all of your chakra...I think I'll start with the blonde with the bad haircut..." said Jirobo.

"Me?" asked Naruto.

"Blonde GIRL." explained the Sound Four member. He had forgotten that three of the members of the group were blonde.

"You shouldn't have said that." said Ruby.

"Why not?" asked Jirobo.

Ruby pointed to her sister.

Jirobo looked at Yang...

...and noticed there was a yellow chakra outline around her.

"I might have said that...a bit too soon." noted Jirobo.

"You think?" answered Ruby.

Yang charged towards Jirobo, attempting to pummel him with her fists.

Jirobo was quick to defend himself, but for the moment, Yang had him pinned.

"Now's our chance!" exclaimed Jaune.

"But what about Yang?" asked Ruby. She wasn't looking forward to leaving her behind. That wasn't what ninja did for their teammates.

"Focus on saving Sasuke, not me!" exclaimed Yang.

"If you say so..." answered the girl.

"Time is kind of the essence..." noted Kiba. If Sasuke reached Orochimaru's hideout, there would be no way for them to rescue him.

Akamaru nodded in agreement.

Reluctantly, the four of them left Yang behind.

"You're fighting me alone? Big mistake!" exclaimed Jirobo.

For a moment, it seemed as if Yang had made a bad decision. They did stand a better chance if they worked together, after all.

Jirobo tossed Yang aside, and attempted to punch her in the face.

However, it seemed that Yang was a better match for him than he thought.

"You should know better than to hit a girl!" exclaimed Yang.

Yang ducked underneath, and punched Jirobo in the face in retaliation.

"Aah!" exclaimed Jirobo. To be honest, he had resisted the urge to hit a girl in a long time...that girl in question happened to be Tayuya.

Well, it looked as if his patience had been rewarded.

In retaliation, he tossed a boulder at Yang.

However, she smashed it with her fists.

"So that's how they got out of the prison..." thought Jirobo.

Well, there was no point in trying to imprison her again...besides, her chakra was rather spicy.

He didn't normally take prisoners, anyway.

Jirobo charged towards Yang again, hoping to pummel her with her fists.

However, when he touched Yang again, he received first-degree burns.

"Am I too hot for you? I'm hot in more than one way, to be honest." admitted Yang. She wasn't without her fair share of fanboys...though some of them were kind of perverted.

Jirobo sighed. Though it hurt his pride, he was going to have to use the first stage of his cursed seal.

Familiar markings appeared on his face.

"That just looks like the cursed seal that Sasuke u-this isn't good." noted Yang.

Sure enough, he was stronger than before.

In addition, he was also more durable. The heat radiating from Yang didn't seem to bother him as much anymore.

Jirobo grabbed Yang by the leg and tossed her into a tree.

"Ow..." said Yang.

"You're weak! Give up already and I'll go easy on you!" exclaimed Jirobo. Granted, he would still hurt her, but still.

Yang didn't take it well to be called weak.

More chakra started to emerge from her.

"Huh?" asked Jirobo.

He was then hit by a small fireball.

"Aah!" shouted the brute, who was knocked backwards a few feet.

 _Meanwhile..._

"You think Yang can take him down? He doesn't seem averse to hitting girls...if only due to his experience with one." noted Naruto.

"I think she can take him down!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Are you saying that because she's your half-sister?" asked Kiba.

"Well obviously, but there's a reason aside from that." explained the brunette.

"Go on..." said Jaune.

"Based on what I know about him, this guy likes to talk trash..." stated Ruby.

"He sure does." nodded Naruto.

"The angrier my sister gets, the stronger she becomes!" exclaimed the brunette.

"Really?" asked the boy.

"Yeah...he's kind of like the Incredible Hulk." noted Ruby.

"You think he'll realize that before it's too late?" asked Kiba.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see..." nodded the brunette girl.

 _Back to where Yang and Jirobo are fighting..._

Unfortunately for Jirobo, he was having a hard time getting closer to Yang with his fireballs.

She was using them to keep him at a distance pretty well. It seemed that she was aware that Jirobo specialized at close-range combat at this point. Granted, she specialized in close-range combat as well, but she wasn't bad at long-range fighting, either.

It was times like this when he wished he were Sakon and Ukon. He was fast as lightning.

Then again, he wasn't exactly looking forward to having a head sprout out from his neck. Even he found that disturbing.

Still, he knew that he had one more stage to his cursed seal.

He was very surprised that he had to use it against a mere chunin like Yang...but he wasn't going to fall on a mission that sounded so simple.

Jirobo activated the second stage of his cursed seal.

Yang gasped in surprise.

"Are you some sort of Grimm?" asked Yang.

Then again, Grimm were black and white, not red...aside from their eyes.

"Actually, no. Though I DO work for the woman who mustn't be named." explained Jirobo. Indirectly, but still.

"Salem?" asked Yang.

Jirobo recoiled. Was Yang fearless or something?

If so, he would teach her its meaning.

He charged at Yang once again, this time, sending her flying into the sky.

Yang gasped as she crashed into the ground.

Chances are she had broken a bone or two...at the very least.

"Ugh..." said Yang.

"Your chakra is spicy, but I can live with that. Though I wonder who I should go for once I'm done with you..." said Jirobo.

He gave this some thought.

"I know! I'll crush the brunette with the scythe! She seems to like fairy tales...why don't I make sure that hers doesn't have a happy ending?" inquired the boy.

Hopefully, he would able to catch up with them. The fight with Yang had dragged on for some time, he had to admit.

As he reached forward to drain Yang of her chakra, he suddenly noticed that Yang was looking rather...angry.

"Huh?" asked Jirobo.

Suddenly, Yang punched Jirobo in the gut.

"Aahhhh!" exclaimed Jirobo.

Jirobo was sent flying through several trees.

His mouth gasped wide open.

Perhaps it would be best if he decided to run. Maybe he would have better luck with her comrades?

However, Yang blocked off his escape with a ring of fire.

Jirobo gasped.

"You know, while I don't exactly appreciate it, I could forgive you for insulting my hair...and for calling me weak. But you know what your fatal mistake was? You threatened the lives of my comrades! You are NOT killing my sister!" bellowed Yang.

"Wait, I take it back!" exclaimed Jirobo.

"It's too late for apologies!" shouted the blonde.

Yang charged up a massive fireball in her hand.

Jirobo gasped.

She released the fireball...and then he knew no more.

Shortly afterwards, the chakra outline around Yang disappeared.

Curious, she noticed that Jirobo was no longer in the second stage of his cursed seal. There were also several burn marks around his body, unsurprisingly.

She checked to see if his heart was still beating.

It wasn't.

"I did it...I saved my comrades...and my sister." said Yang.

Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to pursue them. She just didn't have the chakra.

Still, she managed to take down one of the Sound Four, which was no small feat.

She felt proud of herself.

"I need to rest..." said Yang.

Yang went up to a tree...and passed out.

 _Elsewhere..._

"Jirobo's running late...you don't suppose something bad happened to him, do you?" asked Sakon.

"Orochimaru DID consider him to be the most expendable out of all of us, since he was the weakest." admitted Kidomaru. He wasn't looking forward to being a trio instead of a foursome though.

"I WOULD miss our petty squabbles together." admitted Tayuya.

"Is he your boyfriend?" inquired the teenage boy sharing his body with his brother.

"Knock it off, circus freak!" exclaimed the kunoichi.

The three of them went on...without Jirobo.

 _I hope you liked this chapter. And yes, it was similar to Jirobo's battle with Choji...to be fair, the characters aren't so different, now are they?_

 _In the next chapter, Kidomaru is going to fight another one of our heroes. You're welcome to guess which one...though it probably won't be Naruto._


	40. Chapter 40: Arachnophobia

_In this chapter, our heroes are going to take on Kidomaru. And yes, he's stronger than Jirobo._

 _Can they still defeat him? If only they had a newspaper to take down the spider Faunus.  
_

 **Chapter 40: Arachnophobia**

Naruto, Ruby, Kiba, and Jaune continued making their way towards the Sound Four. Fortunately, they hadn't lost much time.

They didn't see any sign of Yang...but at least they didn't see any sign of Jirobo either.

Fortunately, it seemed that she was able to hold him off long enough.

Hopefully she was alright.

Well, they would focus on rescuing Sasuke...like she said.

Sure enough, they seemed to be nearby. Kiba could smell them.

"They don't smell good." admitted Kiba.

Jaune decided to shapeshift into Jirobo to see if he could fool them.

"Here goes nothing..." said Jaune.

Jaune approached them.

"Where the hell have you been?" inquired Tayuya.

"Watch your language, will you?" asked Jaune. His mother would never approve of that, even though he was a guy.

Fortunately, he was acting like Jirobo would.

However, he couldn't keep up the charade for long.

"Hey Jirobo, want a snack?" asked Kidomaru.

Yes, even a member of the Sound Four could be nice.

Kidomaru pulled out some potato chips. Personally he preferred drinking than eating...drinking the blood of his enemies, that is.

However, much to his surprise, he didn't want any.

"No thanks. I already ate a ton of chakra..." noted the disguised Jaune.

This made Tayuya suspicious.

"Are you for real?" asked Tayuya.

"Of course I am!" exclaimed Jaune.

"Then where's your curse mark?" inquired the kunoichi.

The disguised blonde's blood ran cold. Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten to see Jirobo's cursed mark for himself, so he didn't know it existed.

Perhaps if Yang had returned, he should have used her instead. She had fought against Jirobo, after all.

Tayuya suddenly breathed a mist on Jaune.

All of a sudden, he was no longer disguised.

He gasped.

Unfortunately, Tayuya had a jutsu that could be used against ninja that liked to disguise themselves...as well as ninja that liked to use cloaking abilities.

She then followed by punching him in the face, sending him flying into a tree.

"Oof!" shouted Jaune.

"Jirobo couldn't finish the job, could he? Oh well...it's not fair if only one of us gets to satiate our bloodlust anyway..." noted Tayuya.

Personally, she thought Jirobo's appetite was insatiable, though she was on the fence about his bloodlust. She wasn't any less bloodthirsty than he was.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it!" exclaimed Kidomaru.

Kidomaru sprayed mist on Jaune.

Fortunately, he was able to cut through it with his sword.

However, Kidomaru countered by wrapping his arms, causing him to drop his sword.

"Oh no..." thought Jaune. This didn't bode well.

Unfortunately, since they didn't have Yang, they couldn't simply burn through the webs.

Kiba approached Kidomaru, but he ended up being trapped as well...along with Akamaru.

Kidomaru smirked.

Tayuya along with Sakon and Ukon ran away, with the former carrying the barrel.

"Seems they don't give up easily, do they?" asked Tayuya.

"Neither do you!" exclaimed Sakon.

Tayuya rolled her eyes.

Naruto attacked Kidomaru with his clones...

...but he made a giant spider web and trapped them all.

He sighed.

Now all that was left was Ruby.

"Just one left..." said Kidomaru.

Ruby attempted to slash Kidomaru with her scythe, but he too trapped her.

However, much to his surprise, Ruby was strong enough to break free.

"You broke free? Not even an elephant could do that...though I'm not sure about a Goliath." noted Kidomaru. Goliaths were the Grimm that other Grimm admired, though they weren't necessarily the strongest.

"I've been training with my sister!" exclaimed Ruby. She had also been training with his sensei Kakashi. He knew a thing or two about taijutsu.

Still, it was easier to use the scythe.

She then used it to cut Naruto, Jaune, and Kiba free. Kidomaru shot at her a few times, but she was rather quick.

"Do you want to fight him by herself? I know that your sister wanted to fight the big guy solo..." noted Naruto.

"I seem to have the best chance here..." noted Ruby. "Although, I was under the impression that Spider-Man was a good guy..."

"This isn't a comic book, Ruby." said Jaune.

"I know..." nodded Ruby.

Although, something told her that Kidomaru thought of combat as a game...and that he thought killing people was fun. It was just a hunch.

Jaune, Kiba, and Naruto left.

It looked as if from now on, this ninja party was not going to be of the kunoichi variety.

"You're fighting me solo? It would have been more fun if your teammates stuck around, but I'll live with that!" exclaimed Kidomaru.

Ruby readied her scythe.

She slashed at Kidomaru, but something was intercepting the slashes.

"Huh?" asked Ruby.

Unfortunately, Kidomaru had some sort of armor.

"I guess Jaune isn't the only one with his own suit of armor..." stated the girl.

"I made it out of my own sweat..." answered Kidomaru.

"OK?" inquired Ruby.

Unfortunately for Kidomaru, he couldn't simply pin Ruby with webbing and then strike her down with his weapons. She had made that all too clear.

He was going to have to try something else.

And he needed to think quickly. Ruby was fast, and she could swing her scythe very quickly.

Fortunately, he had an idea.

What if he were out of range of the scythe?

Chances are that would work in his favor.

So he backed away, and decided to fight Ruby from a distance.

"Where did he go? Is he retreating?" asked Ruby.

It then occurred to her that her comrades might be in danger. Perhaps he had decided to take his chances with her comrades, since they couldn't cut through his webs. Jaune could do so, technically, but he needed his sword to cut through it. Kidomaru could work around that fairly easily.

Well, she couldn't let the spider Faunus kill them.

"Oh no! What if he's after my friends? I have to stop him!" exclaimed the kunoichi.

Ruby chased after Kidomaru...

...but then stopped when he launched a golden kunai at her.

"Whoa!" shouted Ruby.

"Surprise!" exclaimed Kidomaru.

Ruby sighed in relief.

"Why are you relieved? You're being shot!" inquired the spider man. Was his opponent some sort of masochist? If so, smiting her down might not be as fun.

"For a moment I thought you were after my comrades..." explained Ruby.

"Aren't you the noble one..." remarked Kidomaru as he prepared another kunai.

Kidomaru shot more kunai at Ruby, but she spun around like a tornado and deflected them.

He noted that Ruby was fast. It looked as if she wasn't exactly an open target. One of the kunai had managed to scratch her cheek...but that was about it.

Suddenly, she noticed Kidomaru.

"Hey, you!" exclaimed Ruby, pointing at the spider Faunus.

Kidomaru was surprised that Ruby could see him.

She opened fire on Kidomaru with her scythe.

"Her scythe is also a gun? Things might be a bit more complicated..." thought Kidomaru.

Ah well. He wouldn't be entertained if things were so simple anyway.

Still, he was looking forward to shooting her down. Her sweetness made her sick to his stomach.

Perhaps he should use the first stage of his cursed seal.

He decided to do just that.

"Time to take things to the next level..." said Kidomaru.

Ruby noticed familiar markings. She knew at once that Kidomaru was now stronger.

"Now then, where were we? Ah yes...you wouldn't happen to be arachnophobic, now would you?" asked the man.

"Actually, no. I've killed spider Grimm several times. They're a threat to normal people...but I'm not a normal person." said Ruby. She was a kunoichi.

"Well, if she doesn't haunt your nightmares, then I WILL!" exclaimed Kidomaru.

"Huh?" asked Ruby. Who was SHE?

Kidomaru pressed his hand against the tree, and suddenly Kyodaigumo appeared.

Sweat began to come down Ruby's face.

"That is one big spider..." noted the kunoichi. She hadn't seen a Black Widow that big. Granted, it wasn't actually a Grimm (though it was frightening as one), but still.

"Kyodaigumo, feast time!" exclaimed Kidomaru.

Kyodaigumo nodded and laid several eggs.

Ruby was able to avoid them.

However, the eggs began to hatch.

"Uh-oh..." said Ruby.

The eggs of course hatched into spiders.

They attempted to swarm Ruby, partly to drink her blood and partly to wrap her up with webbing.

"Get off!" demanded Ruby.

Fortunately, Ruby was able to shake them off.

However, she realized she had a problem. These spiders were much bigger than normal ones. In fact, they were the size of small dogs.

She could only guess the exact size of their mother. She was HUGE!

And to make matters worse, Kyodaigumo had a LOT of children. It wasn't a big surprise considering she was a spider.

Ruby wondered how she was going to feed them all.

She decided that she should ask herself something else.

"What do I do?" asked Ruby.

"I don't know, give up?!" exclaimed Kidomaru.

Ruby sighed.

Wait, speaking of small dogs...

She pressed her hand on the ground and summoned Zwei.

"She can summon too?" asked Kidomaru to himself.

Zwei began to devour the small spiders that were attacking Ruby. A little extra protein wouldn't hurt him.

It looked as if the table had been turned.

Ruby smiled. They had evened the odds!

"Way to go, Zwei! I'd give you a doggy treat...but you'll probably be full after this." noted Ruby. Zwei was munching on the spiders rather happily.

She was worried that he wouldn't survive personally...but she wanted to keep him motivated. Besides, he was willing to risk himself for her.

However, Ruby realized that she still had a problem.

"Won't...she be mad that we're killing her children?" asked Ruby.

Suddenly, Kyodaigumo herself descended from the sky.

She landed right on top of them.

Kidomaru smirked.

"I hope she liked pancakes..." remarked Kidomaru to himself.

However, this would not be the end of the duo.

Suddenly, he began to hear the sound of cutting.

As it turned out, she was cutting herself free.

Kyodaigumo began to scream.

Ruby and Zwei burst out from Kyodaigumo...and then there was no screaming, but only silence.

Kidomaru's eyes widened in shock.

It looked as if he had underestimated Ruby and her dog.

Ruby quickly wiped herself off. It was rather gross, but at least they had managed to slay Kyodaigumo.

Unfortunately for Kidomaru, it was too late to do anything about his earlier mistake, regardless of how big it was. Kyodaigumo was dead! And so were her offspring.

Fortunately for him, Ruby and Zwei still didn't know where he was.

However, that was about to change.

"Well, we managed to kill his spider summon...but how do we find him? He's vanished!" exclaimed Ruby.

Zwei thought about this as well.

He had to be around the forest somewhere.

Suddenly, she remembered something.

"Wait...isn't the sticky gold he makes made out of his sweat?" asked the kunoichi.

Zwei scratched his head with his paw.

"I may have an idea..." noted Ruby.

"Arf?" asked Zwei.

Ruby gave the kunai to Zwei.

At that very moment, he figured out what to do.

He sniffed the kunai and all of a sudden, his nose was locked on Kidomaru's scent.

"What are they up to?" thought Kidomaru.

He noticed Zwei sniffing one of his kunai.

"Wait a minute..." noted the spider man.

Kidomaru then remembered what he had told Ruby.

"Perhaps explaining the details of my powers to my enemy wasn't such a good idea..." noted Kidomaru.

Unfortunately for him, as soon as they had narrowed down Kidomaru's location, they wasted no time in attacking him.

Suddenly, Kidomaru felt a sharp pain in his right leg.

He looked down, and gasped.

Zwei was biting into him!

Frantically, he attempted to shake him off. However, he had an iron grip...at least with his jaws.

Ruby was approaching him as well.

Becoming desperate, Kidomaru activated the second stage of his cursed seal.

He was now able to shake Zwei off.

Kidomaru then tossed him at Ruby.

She was knocked down.

"Oof!" exclaimed Ruby.

Fortunately, she was alright.

She took a look at Kidomaru.

Her skin looked pale. Kidomaru's appearance now matched his personality pretty well.

Kidomaru seized the opportunity to go out of range again.

Now that he was out of range, he was free to attack Ruby once more.

"It's been fun playing with you, but this ends now!" exclaimed Kidomaru.

Kidomaru prepared to use his ultimate technique.

The Spider War Bow.

"Let's see if I can hit a bullseye..." said Kidomaru.

Kidomaru launched the arrow at Ruby and Zwei.

She panicked and ran to avoid it along with Zwei.

The arrow was fast, but she managed to avoid it.

"Whew!" shouted Ruby.

Unfortunately for Kidomaru, his aim had been thrown off by the trees.

But he could fix that.

He attached a golden arrowhead to the arrow.

Afterwards, the spider Faunus then launched another arrow.

However, Ruby managed to avoid it...but barely.

"Those arrows keep on coming!" exclaimed Ruby.

Unfortunately, they were having a hard time closing in on Kidomaru and dodging the arrows simultaneously.

Frustrated that the second arrow had missed as well, Kidomaru attached a thread to his body as well as the next arrow.

This time, this arrow was SURE to hit.

"Sayonara, little red riding hood!" exclaimed Kidomaru.

Kidomaru launched yet another arrow at Ruby.

Unfortunately, it seemed that this arrow was moving a bit too fast...even for her.

However, Zwei managed to push her out of the way.

But in the process, he took the arrow himself.

"Zwei! No!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Don't worry, all dogs go to heaven!" bellowed Kidomaru.

Ruby's fist tightened.

"Well, riding hood, it looks as if you have no means of tracking me down. I'd like to see you try to win now." said the spider Faunus.

She looked at the cord that was now on the ground.

"No means to track you down, you say?" questioned Ruby.

Quickly, Ruby grabbed on to the cord.

Kidomaru gasped in alarm.

He tried to prevent himself from being dragged, but Ruby's anger had given her a lot of strength...much like her sister.

She continued to pull him closer and closer to him.

The spider faunus attempted to cut the cord with one of his kunai, but Ruby quickly shot it out of his hand.

His three eyes widened in horror.

Eventually, he was in range of Ruby's scythe.

She wasted no time in cutting into him viciously.

"You think this is a game? Well, guess what? You just lost!" exclaimed Ruby.

Unfortunately for Kidomaru, he could do nothing but scream in agony. He had used up too much of his chakra to use his sticky gold armor again.

Eventually, Ruby stopped to catch her breath...but by that point, her opponent had already been fatally wounded.

"You might have beaten me...but you'll never rescue Sasuke...he came with us voluntarily..." noted Kidomaru.

"It seemed worth a shot to me." answered Ruby.

Kidomaru coughed up blood. He couldn't remember the last time he had been pushed this far.

Except for the time that he had battled Kimimaro, that is.

It looked as if it were game over for him.

And indeed it was.

Ruby sighed in relief. She had slain the spider Faunus and now her comrades were safe from him.

Strangely enough, her silver eyes hadn't activated...but she didn't need them in the end.

However, she wouldn't able to pursue them. She didn't have enough chakra.

Besides, she needed to give Zwei medical attention. He had survived the arrow, thank goodness...but it had still wounded him.

Quickly, she ran to the ninja hospital.

 _Two down...two to go. Oh wait, there's three of them technically. But that's an idea._

 _Wait, isn't Kimimaro going to be inevitably involved in this? Why else would Kidomaru mention him?_

 _In the next chapter, one of the heroes is going up against Tayuya, while the other is going up against Sakon and Ukon. But to be honest, you probably already know whose going up against who. I won't spoil it if you don't though._


	41. Chapter 41: Improvisation

_In this chapter, Orochimaru is going to need to find another host body. And it won't be Sasuke._

 _Who will be, you ask? Well, I'm differentiating from Naruto canon..._

 **Chapter 41: Improvisation  
**

Kimimaro laid in a bed, still suffering from his fatal illness.

It was questionable whether he would recover.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru realized that the Sound Four were taking longer than he expected.

At this rate, his necrosis was going to kill him.

If he was going to use Sasuke as a vessel, he was going to have to arrive fast.

Knowing this, Kabuto approached Kimimaro.

"How would you like to do Lord Orochimaru a favor?" asked Kabuto.

"But Lord Orochimaru told me that I should try to recover from my illness..." stated Kimimaro. Granted, he was recovering rather slowly from his illness, but at least he was recovering.

However, there was still the possibility that he would die if he didn't remain in bed. Besides, he was hooked up to life support.

"Yes yes, but to be honest, you're not the only one ailing at the moment. Do you remember what the Third Hokage did to him?" asked Kabuto.

"Yes..." nodded Kimimaro.

"I won't ask you to be his vessel, of course...he doesn't want a vessel with a potentially fatal illness...especially since, as you may know, he can only change bodies only once every three years..." noted Kabuto. He could still impersonate another ninja whenever he wanted (especially if he stole their face), but he wouldn't have access to their kekkei genkai.

"Then what do you want?" asked the bone ninja.

"Do our lord a favor and retrieve Sasuke for him. He'll be grateful for what you have done..." said Kabuto.

Of course, Orochimaru hadn't given him much thought since he had gotten that illness, but he wasn't going to tell him that.

"Very well." nodded Kimimaro.

He left the hideout and began to search for the Sound Four.

Or at least, what was left of them.

 _A short while later..._

"First Jirobo, and now Kidomaru. Where have they gone?" asked Sakon. Even though they were strong enough to be Orochimaru's personal bodyguards (despite their young age), they seemed to have a hard time holding off the chunin.

"They better not be slacking off." stated Tayuya. Knowing Jirobo he would probably take his time eating the chakra from his victims...even though they were on a time-based mission. Likewise, Kidomaru liked to play games with his enemies. Deadly ones, of course.

"For your sake, you better not be slacking off, either." said Kimimaro.

"Kimimaro?!" exclaimed Sakon.

"But, you have a terminal illness! Lord Orochimaru said so himself!" exclaimed Tayuya.

"I've managed to use my chakra to hold off its effects." stated Kimimaro.

"Lucky you." retorted Sakon.

Kimimaro pulled out a sword...that was made from his bone.

Sakon's eyes widened.

"Tell me, where are Jirobo and Kidomaru?" asked Kimimaro. Last time he checked, there were four (or five, as the case may be) of them, not two (or three).

"We left them behind to deal with some chunin who thought they could rescue their comrade...we haven't seen them since." explained Tayuya.

Personally, Kimimaro didn't think that chunin would be able to get the best of them, nor did he think that they could get the best of Tayuya or the two conjoined brothers.

"I'll be taking the barrel. You deal with the trash that dare to impede our lord's wishes." explained Kimimaro.

"Yes, of course!" exclaimed Tayuya. She did not want to get on Kimimaro's bad side.

Kimimaro leapt towards Orochimaru's hideout.

"Ready to handle those obnoxious chunin?" asked Sakon.

"I sure am." nodded Tayuya. Something told them that they were still out there.

She pulled out her flute.

Shortly afterwards, she heard the sound of the chunin that had gotten in their way.

"It's the rats that are trying to retrieve Sasuke!" exclaimed Tayuya.

"Tough luck for them. We don't have him anymore." stated Sakon.

"What?" asked Naruto.

"Still, if you want to fight us, we'll be happy to oblige." said the taijutsu specialist.

Sakon approached Naruto.

However, Kiba intercepted him.

Likewise, Akamaru joined in.

"You're outnumbered two to one!" exclaimed Kiba.

"Are you sure about that?" asked a voice.

"What?" asked the boy. It sounded like Sakon, but it hadn't come from his mouth.

"Arf?" inquired Akamaru.

Suddenly, Akamaru found himself being kicked.

He took a closer look at Sakon, and gasped.

As it turned out, there was another ninja living inside him.

"Allow me to introduce you to my brother, Ukon." said Sakon.

"What?!" shouted Kiba.

"I will admit that we're known as the Sound Four, but technically speaking, there is five of us." explained Ukon.

To be honest, not a lot of people knew of his existence. His comrades and Orochimaru did, however.

Kiba and Akamaru attempted to hit Sakon and Ukon with Fang Passing Fang, but he dodged in time.

However, the Fang Passing Fang ended up causing the tree branch they were on to collapse.

The four of them fell off a cliff.

Akamaru whimpered.

"Oh no! Kiba and Akamaru!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Not my teammates!" shouted Jaune.

Well, at least Hinata and Blake were safe. They hadn't even gone on this mission.

"At least Sakon and Ukon will live..." noted Tayuya. She knew that they wouldn't die this easily with that healing factor of theirs...though compared to the rest of her teammates, she wasn't as willing to work with others. She would serve Orochimaru at least, though.

Personally she wouldn't want a head popping out from her neck. That was one thing about Sakon that she did not understand. Then again, she was an only child.

For now, she decided to focus on Jaune and Naruto. Chances are she could smite at least one of them.

Sure enough, they were leaping away, trying to rescue Sasuke before it was too late.

"You're not getting away that easy!" exclaimed Tayuya.

She pressed her hand on the ground, and summoned her Doki trio.

Afterwards, she used her flute to control them, signalling them to chase after Jaune and Naruto.

"Let's rescue Sasuke, shall we?" asked Naruto. It was unfortunate that Kiba and Akamaru had fallen off a cliff...but they had to move on.

"Naruto, we're being chased!" warned Jaune.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

Suddenly, one of the Doki whacked him with his club.

"Ow!" shouted the jinchuriki.

As soon as he realized what was chasing him, he felt rather frightened.

"Good grief! These ogres are huge!" bellowed Naruto.

"And they want to pound us into paste..." noted Jaune.

Unfortunately, despite their large size, they were by no means slow.

One of them clawed at him, but he blocked it with his shield.

And to make matters worse, Tayuya was standing in the direction the two of them were headed.

"We are stuck between a rock and a hard place." stated the jinchuriki.

"Naruto, leave her to me." explained Jaune.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

"I just feel like I'm better equipped to fight her. You go on ahead." explained the blonde.

Trusting his leader's wisdom, Naruto went on ahead.

"Hey, where do you think you're g-"

Jaune tossed a kunai at Tayuya, which she avoided.

She promptly glared at him.

"You want to fight me, little rat? You're outnumbered four to one! Take a look at your executioners!" exclaimed Tayuya.

Tayuya pointed to her three Doki.

"I've faced multiple enemies before..." noted Jaune. Grimm didn't typically travel alone...though some of them liked to be lone Beowulves. Sometimes this backfired on them, but sometimes they were strong enough to fight solo efficiently.

"I'd like to see you try to take down all three of them." said Tayuya. To be honest, she was surprised that Jaune was sacrificing his comrades to save someone that didn't even want to be saved.

Tayuya began to play a melody on her flute.

Jaune knew that something was wrong. Just listening to that melody made him feel afraid.

As it turned out, he had a good reason to be afraid.

Not long after Tayuya played the melody, the three Doki suddenly began to approach him.

Jaune realized that Tayuya was using the flute to control the Doki...and was commanding them to attack him.

He prepared to fight.

Nearby, Naruto pursued Kimimaro.

He wondered who was pursuing him.

On closer inspection, there seemed to be two individuals behind him.

"Don't tell me that those two bailed out on their mission..." said Kimimaro. They should know by now what happened to Orochimaru's followers when they became insubordinate.

Just in case they had decided to do so, he raised his sword.

However, it was someone else entirely.

"The nine-tails jinchuriki?!" exclaimed Kimimaro.

Naruto attempted to strike Kimimaro with his fists, along with his clone.

However, he felt that he had hit something hard.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

For some strange reason, his ribcage felt like it was made of steel.

He was confused.

His clone attempted to do the same, but Kimimaro slashed the clone away.

It burst into white smoke.

"He can use his bones as weapons AND armor?" asked Naruto. This was an unusual kekkei genkai.

Kimimaro tossed a kunai at Naruto...which was made of bone.

Compared to Kidomaru, he could toss kunai a lot faster. Also, for some strange reason, their names were rather similar. It was easy to tell them apart by their appearances, however.

Since he didn't give up easily, Naruto decided to summon many, many clones to attack Kimimaro.

Kimimaro found himself surrounded.

However, this wouldn't be the first time that he was fighting multiple opponents at once.

He recalled fighting the Sound Four simultaneously prior to him being stricken with his terrible illness. It wasn't exactly fair, but he still won.

He had crumbled Jirobo's boulders, he had cut through Kidomaru's webbing like a knife through butter, he had blocked out the sound of Tayuya's flute, and he had countered Sakon and Ukon's unique taijutsu with the sheer density of his bones.

He became a member of the group afterwards...but he was forced to retire due to the horrible disease that had befallen him.

This time, he had his illness to worry about, but like Naruto, he wouldn't give up easily. Orochimaru was counting on him, after all.

Kimimaro readied himself for an all-out assault.

 _Meanwhile..._

Unfortunately for Orochimaru, his necrosis had grown too much for him. The Sound Four had run out of time...even though Kimimaro had decided to enter the fray himself despite his fatal illness.

If only they knew how to treat him. Not even Kabuto could do so. It seemed he had a pretty unique body structure.

Orochimaru gritted his teeth as his arms began to hurt once again.

In retrospect, perhaps he should have attempted to steal Sasuke before the attack on Vale. Though in his defense, Salem had requested him to destroy the city, because she didn't want him to put his desires before her own. Besides, he was the one that knew the layout of Vale the best. That gave him an advantage.

Well, though he was averse to admit it, he couldn't travel back in time and change the past. He was going to have to choose a different vessel than Sasuke...until three years passed, that is. To his knowledge, Sasuke would serve him regardless of whether he was his vessel or not.

The only problem was, who should he choose? He could take Kabuto's body, but that wouldn't give him his medical expertise.

He could also take Adam's body, but to be honest, Adam was more bark than bite, at least to a certain extent. His Cursed Seal Of Heaven had grown exponentially since he had given it to him due to his hatred in his heart, but he still felt he could make a better decision.

On that subject, Adam Taurus suddenly returned to him.

"Has Sasuke not arrived in time?" asked Adam.

"Yes!" exclaimed Orochimaru.

Curious, Orochimaru noted that Adam Taurus was frustrated about something.

"Is something wrong?" asked Kabuto.

"It's Sienna Khan! I had a discussion with her regarding enslaving humanity, but she thought that was too extreme! She simply thinks we should make humans fear us..." noted Adam.

Granted, he did legitimately respect Kabuto despite him being human, as hypocritical as it sounded. Though to his knowledge, Kabuto was Orochimaru's servant, so he wasn't complaining. Kabuto's loyalties were more complicated than what Adam thought, but Orochimaru hadn't explained that to him.

Orochimaru gave this some thought.

Now that he thought of it, she considered Orochimaru's experiments on humanity to be too extreme as well. Perhaps she was worried that this was cause humans to hate Faunus, since of course the perpetrator was a Faunus himself. After all, he had been caught doing so...eventually.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

"What if we were to find a common solution to both our problems?" asked Orochimaru.

"That would be a good plan, yes." nodded Adam.

"Bring Sienna Khan to me. I may not be able to use Sasuke the way I envisioned, but I can find a substitute." explained the Sannin.

Adam knew what Orochimaru was planning...and smiled.

"Very well." nodded Adam.

Fortunately, Sienna Khan was nearby. She was on her throne room.

"How goes finding a replacement body for Orochimaru?" asked Sienna Khan. To be honest, even she found Orochimaru to be disturbing. He seemed to legitimately care about his comrade Cinder despite her being human, but still.

"Actually, he's decided on another host." explained Adam.

Sienna Khan raised an eyebrow.

"Come along with me, Sienna. Orochimaru needs something from you." said Adam.

For a moment, Sienna wondered what Orochimaru would want from her.

However, as she gave it some thought, she started to realize what exactly Orochimaru wanted, putting two and two together.

As she realized what Orochimaru was planning to do, her eyes widened in horror.

Eventually, she was terrified.

"Stop him!" bellowed Sienna Khan.

Sienna Khan's bodyguards attacked Adam.

However, for some strange reason, though he was parrying their attacks with his sword, he wasn't attacking in retaliation.

Sienna wondered what was going on.

She examined her sword curiously.

The tiger Faunus then noticed that the more he parried their blows, the redder the sword was becoming.

Eventually, it was glowing VERY brightly.

Sienna gasped upon realizing what Adam was planning.

Sure enough, he eventually decided to release the chakra that was stored in the blade.

Adam Taurus released a shockwave from the blade, and the bodyguards were sent flying.

All of them fell lifeless on the floor.

Sienna screamed.

"No! Adam, don't do this!" exclaimed Sienna.

"Rest assured, your body will be put to good use." stated Adam.

"NO!" shouted the woman.

Adam hit Sienna on the back of her head, and knocked her out cold.

He then dragged her towards Orochimaru's laboratory, which was only a short distance from Sienna Khan's chambers.

"Do you have Sienna?" asked Orochimaru.

"Yes...she's right here." stated Adam.

Orochimaru transformed into his true form, and he began to swallow Sienna.

Sienna woke up just in time to witness her being swallowed.

Her scream would echo throughout the laboratory...though lucky for Orochimaru, none of the White Fang members loyal to Sienna heard it.

When the process was finished, Orochimaru reverted from his snake form into Sienna.

"Are you sure this was a good idea, my lord? The White Fang will most likely turn on us if they discover this betrayal." said Kabuto.

"I assume you'll be keeping things under wraps?" asked Orochimaru. Being a snake Faunus, wrapping was second nature to him.

"Yes, but-" exclaimed the medical ninja.

"Then we have nothing to worry about." answered the lord.

Adam noted that people would probably be suspicious, but Orochimaru had not left behind Sienna's body for any of the White Fang to find...since he had stolen it.

However, he then remembered that he had left behind a trail of bodies in his efforts to capture Sienna.

Fortunately, he was able to come up with a plan.

He would simply explain that humans had attempted to assassinate Sienna Khan...and that she had narrowly managed to escape.

There was a bump on Orochimaru's head from where Adam had struck his host body earlier, so it wasn't too unbelievable.

As for Orochimaru himself, he had been cured of his necrosis.

Mostly. He still had difficulty using hand seals. It would still be some time before he had recovered completely.

But for the most part, he was just as powerful as he was before.

Soon he would be ready to attack Vale again.

But for now, he would leave things in the hand of Cinder. Who knows? Perhaps she would succeed where he failed.

 _It looks like Sasuke is safe from being Orochimaru's vessel...but we can't say the same for Sienna Khan, now can we? Adam Taurus backstabbed her...just like in canon._

 _In the next chapter, expect more action!_


	42. Chapter 42: Reinforcements

_In this chapter, our heroes will receive reinforcements! Can they save the heroes in time though? Hopefully they can._

 **Chapter 42: Reinforcements**

Kiba and Akamaru fought against Sakon and Ukon two on two.

However, Ukon was assisting his brother by providing extra arms for his taijutsu, creating three-armed punches and three-legged kicks.

It was pretty effective.

Apparently, having another person living inside you had its advantages...though Kiba thought this particular kekkei genkai was rather scary.

Still, it seemed that Sakon and Ukon did not have the upper hand.

This was in part due to the fact that Sakon liked to show off instead of actually fighting.

However, Ukon called him out on it.

"Brother, you don't want to keep Kimimaro waiting, do you?" inquired Ukon.

"Well, technically no, but-"

"Then activate your cursed seal." demanded the older brother of Sakon.

Sakon sighed and activated the first stage of his cursed seal.

Ukon followed suit as well.

Now they were even faster than before.

"How are we going to counter their speed?" asked Kiba.

Akamaru gave this some thought.

"Arf! Arf!" exclaimed Akamaru.

Sakon grabbed Akamaru.

Ukon separated from his brother, and the two began to play volleyball with Akamaru as the volleyball.

"How did I know this was coming?" asked Kiba.

Fortunately, he was able to rescue Akamaru in time.

Kiba and Akamaru decided to use their new jutsu.

"You think it's time to test it out?" asked Kiba.

Akamaru nodded. Now was as good of a time as any. Granted, it would have been useful if they could test it out beforehand, but as it was, they were up against twin psychopaths.

Kiba and Akamaru used their combination transformation technique.

Sakon and Ukon gasped in surprise. In this state, Kiba and Akamaru were HUGE!

They tried attacking the duo, but they were simply swatted away.

It looked as if they were going to have to activate the second stage of their cursed seal as well.

And so they did.

Kiba noted that the two of them looked like twin demons...which admittedly wasn't too surprising.

Unfortunately, they were now fast enough to avoid their attacks...but barely.

And while they could run, there was no way that they could hide. Kiba and Akamaru had a very strong sense of smell, after all.

Sakon's eyes widened when the duo's Fang Wolf Fang narrowly missed them.

"What do we do?" asked Sakon.

"Use our emergency summon." explained Ukon.

Together, the two of them activated their Rashomon Gate, and Kiba and Akamaru crashed into it.

It was rather painful, and it caused both of them to revert to their individual forms.

Still, it left a rather large dent in the Rashomon.

"Ugh..." said Kiba.

"Ruff..." stated Akamaru.

"Did you know in some parts of Remnant citizens eat dog meat? I think I just might snack on you..." said Sakon.

However, Akamaru would be having none of that.

He squirted urine in his eyes...which actually wasn't unlike acid.

"Aah! My eyes! They're burning!" exclaimed Sakon.

This concerned Ukon.

"Quickly! Wash your eyes!" ordered Ukon.

Sakon nodded and did just that.

"Now then, where were we?" asked Ukon.

Ukon rushed towards Kiba.

Much to his surprise, Kiba ended up with Ukon fused to HIS body.

"What?!" exclaimed Kiba.

"You didn't think we were limited to each other's bodies, do you? Admittedly, we can only do this when we're in the second stage of our cursed seals...but you get the picture." explained Ukon.

"What are you up to?" inquired the Inuzuka clan member.

Curiously, he was starting to feel rather ill.

"Simple. I'm invading your body as we speak...and it's only a matter of time before I reach your vital organs. Think of it as dying from a virus." said Ukon.

Sure enough, Kiba was starting to feel sicker and sicker.

He let out a cough.

Akamaru attempted to assist Kiba by biting into Ukon.

However, Ukon advised against it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, puppy. In case you haven't noticed, I'm combined with your owner. If you hurt me, you'll hurt him as well." explained Ukon.

Akamaru stood down. He wondered what he should do.

However, he didn't need to lift his paw at all.

Suddenly, Kiba stabbed himself in the arm with a kunai.

"Aah!" shouted Ukon. He was very surprised at the occurrence.

Kiba then removed his coat and continued stabbing himself.

This of course had the same effect on Ukon.

Eventually, Ukon panicked and he decided to leave Kiba's body before Kiba could take Ukon with him.

He decided to go back to his brother to heal his injuries.

"Arf, arf!" shouted Akamaru. He wasn't sure what they should do. It was only a matter of time before Ukon came back.

"The only thing we can do now is try to lure them as far away from the rest of our comrades as we can." explained Kiba.

Unfortunately, due to his self-inflicted injuries, he wouldn't be able to move too far.

Still, he wanted to buy his comrades time.

Akamaru nodded.

Together, the two of them began to flee.

But in the process, Kiba forgot his coat.

 _Elsewhere..._

"Hold still, why don't you?" asked Tayuya.

Unfortunately for Tayuya, it seemed that Jaune was too fast for her Doki.

Not only that, but she was counterattacking her Doki every time they attacked.

She could see that there were slash and stab marks on them.

At this rate, she was going to lose her summons...and then she would be vulnerable.

She had to think of something.

"If only there was a way to make them faster..." thought Tayuya.

Oh wait. There was.

She remembered the cursed seal that Lord Orochimaru had given her.

Granted, she didn't think that she would have to use it against a mere chunin...but she wasn't going to allow her Doki to be killed. They were her personal bodyguards, just as she was to Orochimaru.

She activated the first stage of her cursed seal.

Jaune knew that fighting the Doki was about to become more difficult.

Sure enough, their speed had increased. Jaune was both having a harder time dodging them AND counterattacking.

And to make matters worse, Tayuya had another trick up her sleeve.

"I scold Jirobo for doing this so much...but let's face it, chakra tastes delicious." stated Tayuya.

The Doki's mouths opened, releasing what seemed to be worms. Worms with multiple mouths that were spectral.

The three of them swarmed Jaune.

He tried to fight them off, but it seemed slashing them was like slashing a shadow.

For his trouble, one of them bit into his arm.

He clutched it in pain.

Unfortunately, Tayuya was draining his chakra.

She licked her lips.

Since his sword was useless against the ghostly worms, Jaune decided to hide.

He began to think of his strategy.

Perhaps if he infused his sword with chakra he could combat the spectral worms.

However, chances are if he did so his sword would release a bright light that would give away his decision.

Perhaps he should focus on the Doki instead.

Then again, he wasn't looking forward to being pummeled by them either.

Suddenly, his scroll began to ring.

Jaune gasped.

Why did he have to have such a loud ringtone?

Quickly, he answered the scroll.

"Jaune, are you there? I haven't seen you in a while..." explained Hinata.

"I can't talk, Hinata! I'm in the middle of a fight to the death!" exclaimed Jaune.

"A fight to the what?!" bellowed the kunoichi.

Jaune quickly hanged up.

Shortly afterwards, one of the Doki attempted to stomp him.

"Are you ready to face the music, little rat?" asked Tayuya.

Jaune wondered why he didn't set his scroll to vibrate.

Wait...if Tayuya was using sound, perhaps Jaune could counteract it with sound of his own.

He suddenly had an idea.

The blonde boy set the volume on his scroll to the maximum setting.

Afterwards, he began to play a song on it.

It was the Camp Camp theme song.

Tayuya wondered what was going on.

"What is he up to? And why is he singing about camping?! We're in the middle of a fight!" exclaimed Tayuya.

Tayuya commanded the Doki to attack Jaune...

...but for some strange reason, they weren't responding to her flute too well.

"What's the matter with you?" asked Tayuya.

She then realized what was going on.

"Crap...he's using his scroll to drown out the sound of my flute!" shouted Tayuya.

Unfortunately, by the time that she figured it out, it was already too late.

Jaune decapitated one of the Doki with his sword, bisected another, and slashed the third one across the torso several times.

All three of them burst into smoke.

"You little rat! You killed my Doki!" shouted Tayuya.

"Don't make me do the same to you." said Jaune.

"Well, it seems now it's just you and I. Time for me to show you the full extent of my strength..." said Tayuya.

Tayuya activated the second stage of her cursed seal. Numerous horns sprouted from her head...and for some strange reason her hair turned pink.

However, she couldn't help but shake the feeling she was forgetting something.

Unfortunately for her, she ended up destroying her hat in the process.

"Damn it!" shouted Tayuya.

"Whoops?" asked Jaune.

"No matter. I can always get another one. Now then, where were we? Ah yes!" exclaimed Tayuya.

Suddenly, Tayuya approached Jaune and swiped his scroll.

Quickly leaping out of the way before Jaune could strike her with his sword, she then slammed it against a tree, breaking it.

"Those don't come cheap!" bellowed Jaune.

"You won't need another one where you're going!" shouted Tayuya.

Jaune gulped.

She played a melody on her flute...and suddenly, Jaune was feeling very strange.

Suddenly, he ended up stretching out his arms.

"Why am I doing this?" asked Jaune.

Shortly afterwards, he witnessed his right arm beginning to...melt.

"Aahhhhh!" screamed the boy.

Tayuya smirked. Her genjutsu was working well.

It was only a matter of time before Jaune went into cardiac arrest.

She could see the sweat coming down his face.

"I'm making your nightmares come to life, aren't I?" asked Tayuya.

"Yes!" nodded Jaune.

However, at that very moment, something unexpected happened.

"Ow!" shouted the boy.

He had ended up stubbing his toe on the tree branch.

For once, his tendency to get injured was coming in handy.

This caused the genjutsu to wear off.

"What?!" shouted Tayuya.

Jaune then approached Tayuya with his sword.

"My mother told me not to strike girls...but for you, I'll make an exception." said Jaune.

Jaune raised his sword and aimed it at Tayuya's heart.

However, Tayuya grabbed his arms before he could so.

And to make matters worse, she had superhuman strength, and of course, she was using it to keep the sword away from her. It was working out pretty well.

He couldn't seem to quite finish the job.

What was he going to do?

 _Meanwhile..._

Fortunately for Kiba and Akamaru, they managed to find a hiding spot behind a tree.

Hopefully this would give Kiba a chance to recover.

Granted, he had stabbed himself several times, so he had used quite a bit of chakra.

Still, none of the wounds were fatal, so he would recover eventually.

However, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was forgetting something.

"Wait, where's my coat?" asked Kiba.

"Looking for something?" inquired Ukon.

Kiba gasped.

As it turned out, Ukon was now wearing his coat...and he had managed to find Kiba after using it to memorize the latter's scent.

For some strange reason, none of his stab wounds he had received were visible. All that were left were scratch marks.

Fortunately for him, he had managed to enter his brother's body and healed himself before resuming the hunt.

Akamaru barked at Ukon, but he kicked him away.

Unfortunately, due to Ukon wearing Kiba's coat, neither of them had been able to track down Ukon using his scent. Not only had Ukon used it to hunt down Kiba, he had also used it so that he would be undetected.

"I think I'll keep this as a souvenir since we had to work so hard to take you down..." remarked Ukon.

"Please, do with me whatever you want...just don't hurt Akamaru!" exclaimed Kiba.

"Sacrificing yourself for your dog, are we? To be honest, I would do the same for my younger brother..." noted the older of the sound twins.

Ukon pulled out a kunai.

"Very well." said the silver-haired boy.

However, at that very moment, someone swiped the kunai out of his hand.

"What?" inquired the older of the Sound Twins.

As it turned out, Blake had arrived on the scene.

"Blake?" asked Kiba.

"Ruff?" inquired Akamaru.

"Hinata figured you and Jaune could use a hand..." explained Blake.

Ukon discovered that someone had arrived to assist Kiba.

"A cat Faunus?" inquired Ukon.

"I'm not letting you kill my teammate." said Blake.

Ukon used his cursed seal to call for his brother Sakon.

"Ukon?" asked Ukon's younger brother.

Apparently, killing Kiba was going to be a bit more complicated than they thought.

Sakon made his way to where his brother was. Apparently, Ukon was being attacked by a Faunus.

"You're being attacked by a kitten?" asked Sakon. That sounded rather pathetic.

"She's fast on her feet, I'll give her that." explained Ukon. He couldn't seem to hit her.

Shrugging, Sakon grappled Blake.

"I'm going to take pleasure in taking all nine of your lives, kitty!" exclaimed Sakon.

"Be careful! He's trying to merge with your body and invade it!" warned Kiba. If that happened, Blake's vital organs could potentially be damaged beyond repair.

"Sorry, but it's already too late." stated the younger of the Sound Twins.

However, as it turned out, it wasn't.

"What?!" exclaimed Sakon.

As he discovered, he was merging with a clone.

The real Blake was nearby.

"A clone? Your feeble tricks won't save you!" exclaimed Sakon.

"Not just any clone." said Blake.

She performed a hand seal.

Sakon raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, the clone exploded.

"Aaarrrrgghhhh!" shouted Sakon.

"Brother!" bellowed Ukon.

Acting quickly, Ukon activated the second stage of his cursed seal and rescued his brother in the nick of time.

Sakon then merged with his body to recover from the explosion.

"You let that kitty get the better of you? You have got to be kidding me, Sakon." said Ukon.

"Just take over while I regenerate!" exclaimed Sakon.

"He's going to regenerate?" asked Blake.

"Yes! They can heal themselves!" nodded Kiba. How else would Ukon have recovered from his stab wounds so quickly?

"You can't beat us, kitten. Why don't you run off now and let us finish off this piece of trash?" asked Ukon.

Ukon pointed to Kiba.

Blake shook her head.

"I'm not abandoning him." said Blake.

Ukon simply laughed.

However, his cocky smile would quickly be erased.

Suddenly, Blake transformed into a monstrous cat humanoid that was as black as her hair. It wasn't too different from Kiba and Akamaru's transformation earlier. She had sharp claws and equally sharp fangs.

Ukon screamed.

Immediately, he was forced to run.

However, Blake was anything but slow.

Curious, Kiba wondered how long Ukon would be able to elude Blake. Now that he thought of it...wasn't Sakon normally the dominant body? Ukon didn't seem used to moving around on his own.

Just how long would he last?

He was about to find out.

Suddenly, Ukon tripped.

At that very moment, Blake was upon him.

She proceeded to bite through his jugular, causing him to scream.

And to make matters worse, since Sakon was in his body, everything Blake did to Ukon happened to Sakon as well.

Within the time span of a few minutes, Blake had killed both Sakon and Ukon.

Blake changed back to her normal form, and wiped the blood from her lips.

 _Elsewhere..._

Unfortunately for Jaune, Tayuya was able to move the blade further and further away from her heart over time.

Suddenly, she kicked him in the stomach.

Jaune clutched it in pain...

...and in the process, he dropped his sword.

Tayuya smirked and picked it up.

"Well, this is rather ironic! It looks like you're about to die because of your own sword!" exclaimed Tayuya.

"You certainly are devious..." noted Jaune.

"Tell the two brothers that I sent you!" shouted the kunoichi.

However, at that very moment, help arrived on the scene.

Suddenly, Tayuya was punched in the face.

"What the-" exclaimed Tayuya.

"Hinata?" asked Jaune.

He then remembered the call that Hinata had given him. Apparently, she had made her way towards them as fast as she could once she realized that her teammates were in danger.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going on this mission?!" shouted Hinata.

"We were in a hurry! The Sound Ninja were leaving with Sasuke!" exclaimed Jaune.

"Oh..." said the kunoichi. If time was of the essence, she wouldn't be too hard on him.

"Another one? The more the merrier!" shouted Tayuya.

She pulled out her flute and summoned more spectral worms.

However, Hinata was able to use her Gentle Fist to smite them.

Tayuya gasped.

She then followed by using a genjutsu...but Hinata was able to counteract it fairly easily.

"What?!" shouted Tayuya.

"How did you do that?" asked Jaune. He wasn't complaining, but still.

"Using my Byakugan makes it a lot easier for me to break out of genjutsu..." explained Hinata. After all, it did grant her near-360 vision, making spotting flaws in a genjutsu a lot easier.

"I see." nodded Jaune.

Tayuya decided to leap away.

"Is she retreating?" asked Hinata.

"She doesn't seem like the person to give up..." noted Jaune. Chances are she was going to try to use her genjutsu again.

And unfortunately, she still had his sword. He wasn't going to be much help against her.

"What do you suggest?" asked Hinata.

"I suggest you cover your ears...she uses sound-based genjutsu, after all. If only we had a close-ranged specialist like Kiba or Rock Lee...speaking of which, did you bring Blake along as well? Something tells me Kiba is in the same boat..." explained Jaune.

Hinata nodded.

"Although, perhaps sending Kiba wouldn't be such a good idea. He has better hearing than both of us. I'm not sure who we should send..." noted the blonde.

"Um, Jaune, not to blow my own trumpet but...I happen to be pretty good at close-ranged combat." explained Hinata.

"Huh? Oh, that's right. You have the Gentle Fist. Still, I'm not sure how we can find her..." said Jaune.

Hinata pointed to her Byakugan.

"Oh, right. The Byakugan. I'm a bit forgetful today." stated Jaune.

She used her Byakugan to sense Tayuya.

Sure enough, she was preparing to cast her genjutsu again.

Quickly, she approached her.

"Alright, once I cast my genjutsu, I should be all set." said Tayuya. She would cut down both that little rat and his little mouse friend.

Suddenly, she saw Hinata coming towards her.

Her jaw dropped in shock.

Shortly afterwards, Hinata pummeled her with Gentle Fist, causing her to scream in agony.

She then dealt a fatal blow to her heart.

"Damn you!" exclaimed Tayuya.

Tayuya fell to the forest floor, and drew her final breath.

In the process, she reverted to her normal appearance.

"I'm glad we managed to take her down, but I'm worried about Naruto. How long can he last against Kimimaro?" asked Jaune.

Suddenly, the two of them witnessed a blur.

"Who was that?" asked Hinata.

"I don't know, but it might be good news for Naruto..." stated the blonde.

Meanwhile, Naruto was facing Kimimaro with an army of clones.

Personally, he wondered how Ruby was doing.

As it turned out, she had found her sister.

She decided to carry her to the ninja hospital as well. She had used up quite a bit of chakra.

Ruby decided she should probably receive a checkup as well.

"I hope we can all make it..." said Ruby.

 _I hope you liked this chapter! In the next chapter, we'll see Naruto's battle with Kimimaro...which is unfortunately one-sided. But help is on the way!  
_


	43. Chapter 43: A Bone To Pick

_In this chapter, Kimimaro is going to fight Naruto. However, the fight is a little...one-sided. In fact, Kimimaro doesn't even need to use his cursed seal. And yes, he's just that good. He might need his cursed seal for what's coming next though._

 _However, help will show up. Not just one ninja, but two! You can feel free to guess which ones._

 _At this point, Kimimaro is the only ninja still alive. Will he make it? He's kind of got an illness...and you probably know what happened to him in canon._

 _I won't spoil anything just yet though._

 **Chapter 43: A Bone To Pick**

Akamaru licked Blake in the face, happy that Blake had shown up to save the day. He wasn't sure what either of them would have done if she hadn't shown up to fight the two demon brothers.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day that a dog would lick me in the face..." noted Blake.

She used to be afraid of dogs before she met Kiba. Luckily, Kurenai had persuaded her that Akamaru wouldn't bite.

Blake applied some bandages to where Kiba had stabbed himself.

However, Kiba found it difficult to walk.

Blake wouod have to escort him back to Vale.

Meanwhile, Jaune and Hinata headed back to Vale as well.

Ruby discovered Yang unconscious on the ground.

"What happened?" asked Ruby.

It seemed that she had used a lot of chakra.

Perhaps it would be best if she was looked at. Losing chakra could be bad for a ninja's health.

She knew that Jirobo had a habit of draining people's chakra.

However, it seemed that Jirobo was dead. It seemed that just as she had killed Kidomaru, Yang had killed Jirobo.

It looked as if she would have to bring her back to Vale as well.

 _Meanwhile..._

"If you wish to retreat, nobody will fault you." stated Kimimaro.

"I'm not running away!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Alright, but don't blame me if you end up six feet under." answered the white-haired boy. He wasn't bloodthirsty like the rest of his teammates, but that did not mean that he wasn't willing to get his hands dirty.

Unfortunately for Naruto, he was fighting an uphill battle. Kimimaro's bones were like steel.

Personally he was surprised that he was using his own bones as weapons.

Furthermore, when Kimimaro launched bone fragments from his fingers, they were like bullets.

Naruto wondered how many clones he was going to lose...and how many clones he had lost already.

Kimimaro spun around, slashing every clone that dared to approach him.

Naruto wondered if he stood a chance against Kimimaro.

Suddenly, the barrel that Sasuke was in showed signs of movement.

"Huh?" asked Naruto.

It looked as if Sasuke was awake.

He began to emerge from the barrel.

However, there seemed to be something different about him.

He began to head towards Otagakure.

"Um, Sasuke, Vale would be that way." said Naruto, pointing to the other direction.

However, Sasuke refused to listen.

Desperate, he attempted to pursue him.

Unfortunately, Kimimaro had no intention of letting Naruto pursue Sasuke. It would be best if Sasuke arrived to Orochimaru unharmed.

He pulled out a spear of bone and threw it at Naruto.

Naruto narrowly avoided the spear, tripping on the ground in the process.

Kimimaro got ready to throw a lighter spear, or in other words a javelin.

It wouldn't be as powerful, but it would be harder for Naruto to avoid.

However, at that very moment, Rock Lee arrived on the scene.

"Rock Lee, is that you? I feel like a kitten trying to fight a sumo wrestler..." said Naruto.

"Yes, it is I!" shouted Rock Lee.

"You don't suppose you would stand a better chance against him, would you? I tried using my clones but he's cutting through them like a knife through butter..." stated the blonde chunin.

And to think that he wasn't even using his cursed seal.

Naruto attempted to pursue Sasuke once again.

However, Kimimaro prepared to throw the javelin.

Fortunately, Rock Lee grabbed his arm.

Kimimaro looked at Rock Lee curiously.

"You wish to fight me? I was in line to be Lord Orochimaru's vesssel until Sasuke came along..." stated Kimimaro. That, and he was suffering a horrible illness.

"Yes!" nodded Rock Lee.

"Very well, but you should know what I'm capable of." answered the white-haired boy.

However, Rock Lee was proving to be a more difficult opponent than Naruto was.

It seemed that he was faster than Naruto was, for one.

That, and his taijutsu skills were pretty impressive. Naruto wasn't bad at taijutsu but Rock Lee was on a whole different level.

He also occasionally launched a fireball or two, though they weren't as effective as his taijutsu skills.

Again, Weiss had been helping him learn ninjutsu. He was better at it than before, though taijutsu was still very much his specialty.

He considered learning genjutsu, but he wasn't sure about the best way to mess with another ninja's head.

Unfortunately for Kimimaro, Rock Lee was intercepting all his strikes.

Eventually, he managed to punch Kimimaro in the face.

Fortunately, the sheer density of the bones meant that it didn't do as much damage as the attack could have.

Even so, it was pretty impressive that they had managed to land a hit on him. None of the Sound Four members had been capable of doing so, even Sakon and Ukon who were essentially fast as lightning. Sakon may have been proud of his speed, but Kimimaro was still in a whole different league compared to him.

Speaking of which, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that the Sound Four had met a horrible fate. It looked as if he was the only ninja left completing this mission. But to be honest, he was willing to do the mission by himself if needed.

Well, even if he was the only ninja on Orochimaru's side that was still alive, at least their mission was going well. He couldn't stop Naruto from fighting Sasuke, but at that point, Sasuke had the second stage of the cursed seal.

He figured things would be alright.

Not wanting to take any chances, Kimimaro performed a partial cursed seal transformation.

He was now faster than before. Rock Lee couldn't keep up.

Kimimaro kicked Rock Lee to the ground.

"Are you willing to surrender?" asked Kimimaro.

"No! I must complete the mission!" exclaimed Rock Lee.

"I hope you don't mind being killed in action then." stated the white-haired boy.

He lunged at Rock Lee with his sword.

"Wait...do you accept last requests?" asked the martial artist.

"Last requests? This is the first time someone has asked me that...but I suppose I can." nodded Kimimaro. As long as the request was reasonable, of course.

Rock Lee pulled out a bottle of sake.

He began to drink it down.

"Alright, I'm not doing you any favors. I hope that last request was worth it for you." stated the teenage boy.

As it turned out, it was.

Suddenly, Rock Lee was far stronger than before.

"I'm a fairy princess!" shouted Rock Lee.

"What?" asked Kimimaro.

Rock Lee lunged at Kimimaro with a series of kicks.

He was having a hard time parrying the strikes.

Kimimaro was kicked in the shin.

He was surprised at the occurrence.

He launched more bullets at Rock Lee, but it seemed to him that they were going in slow motion.

"You might as well put on some shades..." noted the white-haired boy.

Rock Lee puked.

Kimimaro frowned. He wished that he didn't have to see that.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Are you sure we should have sent Rock Lee on this mission? Neither of his teammates are there with him." explained Might Guy.

"Well, he did bring a bottle of sake with him." explained Tsunade.

"He did?!" shouted the martial artist.

"Yes, he did. Why do you ask?" inquired the Sannin.

"When he drinks a bottle of sake, he becomes an unstoppable force of destruction!" exclaimed the man.

"He does?" asked Tsunade.

"I was there to save it! He almost destroyed the entire tavern!" explained Might Guy.

Sakura approached.

"Don't tell me he's drinking again!" shouted Sakura.

"I'm afraid so." nodded the jonin.

"Why would he even do that?" inquired the kunoichi.

"If I had to guess, he wanted an alternative to using the gates that could harm him..." explained Might Guy.

Even so, when he drank the sake, he became a threat to everyone around him. It would be best if he weren't fighting with someone else when he used it.

Fortunately, he got the feeling that he was not.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Why is this drunk so hard to fight?" asked Kimimaro.

He simply could not predict what he did next.

Kimimaro was under the impression that a drunkard wouldn't notice that someone was trying to stab him. But apparently he was wrong.

Currently, Rock Lee was sleeping.

"Wake up." demanded Kimimaro.

He began to kick at Rock Lee.

Suddenly, he grabbed his ankle and threw him to the ground.

Kimimaro had a hard time believing it, but it looked as if he was going to have to use the first stage of his cursed seal.

He decided to do so.

Fortunately, he had a much easier time fighting Rock Lee now.

He was still a bit unpredictable, but nothing he couldn't handle.

And to make things better for him, the alcohol was starting to wear off.

"Hooray! I'm in Candyland! Now I can gorge myself to my heart's content! Oh wait, I'm just in a forest." explained Rock Lee.

Sure enough, he was starting to make sense again.

Rock Lee threw the bottle of sake at Kimimaro's face.

It didn't hurt him at all.

"Why didn't that hurt you, you big monkey?" asked Rock Lee.

"I'm not a monkey." answered Kimimaro.

Suddenly, Rock Lee returned to his senses.

"What happened? My head hurts." explained the chunin.

"Want me to put you out of your misery?" asked the white-haired boy. If Rock Lee was an alcoholic, he probably didn't have much to live for.

"Well, I'm technically in pain, but-"

Kimimaro pulled out a two-handed bone sword and lunged at Rock Lee.

However, he found himself being parried with another sword.

"Another ninja?" asked Kimimaro. It seemed that he was getting several opponents these days.

He decided to look at his opponent.

As it turned out, it was none other than the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company.

"The heiress of the Schnee Dust company? Your father didn't want you on the front lines." explained Kimimaro.

"Some people think that women should stay in the kitchen...I'm staying away from it." stated Weiss.

Personally, Kimimaro wondered if he was destined to greater things than being a war weapon. Personally he thought his clan had been stupid, waging wars left and right. It was only a matter of time before they had been wiped out.

Still, he remained, because unlike them, he was sane.

Kimimaro attempted to strike at Weiss, but Weiss broke the sword in two.

Could it be that he was finally being challenged? He hadn't found a worthy opponent in quite some time, even before his illness had taken effect.

But perhaps he had finally found one.

He proceeded to take his coat off.

"Are you trying to seduce me or something?" asked Weiss. Kimimaro did look sexy shirtless, but she couldn't forget that they were enemies.

"Let's just say that my powers have serious potential to do clothing damage." explained Kimimaro.

"I'll try not to get distracted by you without your shirt on..." explained the kunoichi.

"Good. You'll have to stay focused if you want to beat me." stated the white-haired boy.

Unlike the rest of the Sound Four, Kimimaro didn't seem to have an ego to him. He didn't kill people for fun...more out of pragmatism.

Perhaps Weiss was lucky that she wasn't fighting the other members, even if Kimimaro was far stronger.

Kimimaro let out a cough.

It seemed that his illness was starting to take hold.

Perhaps his chakra reserves were starting to deplete.

He knew that the more chakra he lost, the worse his illness would be for his health.

So, he decided that he would try to wrap things up quickly.

Reaching into his back, he pulled out several bone daggers and launched them at Weiss.

However, she blocked them with her ice wall.

He then pulled out his own spine.

"Wouldn't that...paralyze you?" asked Weiss.

"He can regenerate his own bones..." explained Rock Lee.

"Oh, that makes sense." nodded the teenage girl. Why else would he use his spine against them?

Rock Lee had to admit, it hadn't been too long ago that she had saved him from Gaara.

He was under the impression that he would be a lady's knight in shining armor. And yet, Weiss was proving to be HIS knight in shining armor.

Rock Lee DID help Naruto out when he needed it though, so he was still a hero.

Perhaps he would simply lower his expectations a bit. That wasn't too unreasonable, was it?

Compared to the weapons Kimimaro had used previously, this weapon seemed to be more of a blunt weapon.

However, this did not mean that it wasn't any less effective.

Sure enough, it was smashing through the ice that Weiss was creating.

She realized that she was going to have to change tactics.

Fortunately, she had an idea.

She decided to summon an Atlesian Paladin...that was armed with blunt weapons.

This worked surprisingly well. It was capable of smashing the bones that Kimimaro was creating.

Becoming desperate, Kimimaro activated the second stage of his cursed seal.

"He looks like a dinosaur!" shouted Rock Lee.

"I know..." answered Weiss. However, he didn't seem to be cold-blooded, considering her ice attacks didn't seem to be slowing him down.

Kimimaro turned his arm into an enormous drill, and began to drill through the paladin that Weiss made.

While Kimimaro's bone drill disappeared afterward, it was enough to cause the Atlasian Paladin to collapse in a pile of icy metal.

Using the Paladin wasn't enough anymore.

"Have you ever thought that Orochimaru was using you?" asked Weiss.

"Lord Orochimaru would never use me as a tool!" exclaimed Kimimaro.

"Oh really? What makes you think he's not replacing you with Sasuke?" inquired the white-haired girl.

Kimimaro's eyes widened.

However, he dismissed the thought.

He prepared to use his drill attack again.

Weiss summoned Gamabunta.

"Yes? I was asleep." explained Gamabunta.

"We're fighting a bone ninja..." said Weiss.

"You're fighting Kimimaro?!" shouted the toad. The stories about him were quite impressive. Not impressive as the stories about the three Sannin, but still impressive regardless. It was plausible that Kimimaro was stronger than Kabuto was, though he wasn't as strong as Orochimaru himself.

"So you've heard of him." spoke the white-haired girl.

"Yes...you're lucky that he's suffering from an illness, or you may not stand a chance against him." explained Gamabunta.

"I'd like to think that no ninja is invincible..." noted Weiss. That sounded unbelievable.

Kimimaro lunged towards Gamabunta, but he countered by splashing him with water.

Weiss then followed by freezing Kimimaro, encasing him in an ice cube.

However, he quickly broke out.

Gamabunta followed by slashing him with a sword.

Kimimaro was sent flying by it.

Realizing the threat that he was facing, Kimimaro decided to use his ultimate technique.

Suddenly, spikes of bone began to emerge from the ground.

Weiss's eyes widened.

Quickly, she created several glyphs to form a bridge above the spikes.

This proved to be successful, though for a moment, Weiss and Rock Lee both thought they were goners.

She sighed in relief.

However, Kimimaro wasn't done yet.

Suddenly, he emerged from the spikes, wielding yet another drill made from bone.

Weiss quickly attempted to parry the drill.

However, she was having a hard time doing so.

But at that very moment, Kimimaro began to cough up blood.

His illness was taking full effect.

Shortly afterwards, the bone spikes began to crumble to dust.

"I'm...dying? But, I want to keep doing Orochimaru's bidding..." stated Kimimaro.

"You shouldn't have done his bidding in the first place." explained Weiss.

Kimimaro coughed up blood, and drew his last breath.

He then collapsed on the ground.

"Is it over?" asked Rock Lee.

Weiss nodded.

It seemed that Kimimaro was dead.

It was a shame really. If only Kimimaro had realized that Orochimaru was simply using him. Perhaps things would have turned out differently for him then.

Even so, she wasn't sure how exactly one would cure his illness. It didn't seem like any illness that she had seen before, though admittedly she wasn't a medic.

Weiss and Rock Lee decided to head back to Vale. Both of them had expended much of their chakra.

Likewise, Gamabunta went back to the swamp.

 _Meanwhile..._

"It seems that Kimimaro has perished, my lord." explained Kabuto.

Orochimaru thought it was rather unfortunate that the Sound Four and Kimimaro had perished.

While it was disheartening to lose his bodyguards and his former intended vessel, he decided that he would move on.

Besides, he now had Sasuke.

He could mold him to be his ideal apprentice.

Sasuke would still want revenge on Itachi, of course, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

 _Yes, this is the second time Weiss has saved Rock Lee. Gaara just might help Weiss in the future though. She saved him from Shukaku...and himself.  
_

 _In the next chapter, Naruto will fight Sasuke. Rest assured, Sasuke is a much more suitable opponent for Naruto than Kimimaro is._

 _I figured I would have Kimimaro fight another swordsman. I could have used Gaara but I want to use him for an original arc. I will admit that I haven't done an original arc for this fanfic though I have made Roman Torchwick face a different opponent from the RWBY canon. The Sand Siblings also had different opponents as well since they went up against RWBY characters._


	44. Chapter 44: Sasuke's Insanity

_In this chapter, Naruto will fight Sasuke. At this point, all the Sound Ninja are gone. However, there's still the matter of Naruto fighting Sasuke. Who will win? Place your bets!  
_

 _Of course, I'm not deviating from canon too much, but anyways._

 **Chapter 44: Sasuke's Insanity**

Naruto pursued Sasuke.

At this point, they weren't far from Orochimaru's lair.

However, Naruto caught up with him.

He decided to take a look around.

He noticed that for some strange reason there was a statue of Hashirama Senju nearby, in front of a waterfall.

However, Naruto also noticed that for some strange reason there was another statue of a man that he did not recognize.

Even so, he could tell that this man was a Uchiha. Otherwise, why would his eyes be painted red?

Standing on top of the statue of the Uchiha was Sasuke.

"Sasuke! Come down from there!" exclaimed Naruto.

Sasuke did just that.

He seemed surprisingly happy to see him.

"Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

"It's good that you're here, Naruto. I need your help with something." explained the teenage boy.

"Huh?" inquired the blonde boy. He thought that he wanted help from Orochimaru, not him.

What exactly was Sasuke planning?

"I need to unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan if I really want to stand a chance against my brother...however, in order to do so, I need to murder one of my loved ones. You should do." explained Sasuke.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Sasuke, I think your obsession with revenge has caused you to lose your sanity." stated Naruto. He was plotting to murder his own comrade. To put it in perspective, there had been evidence that Itachi Uchiha had murdered his best friend even before the massacre had began. That was allegedly how he obtained the Mangekyo Sharingan.

It wouldn't be too surprising if there was another way to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan, but there was evidence that Itachi Uchiha had betrayed his best friend.

Was Itachi Uchiha really one of the most evil ninja in the world? Or was there a reason for killing the Uchiha clan aside from target practice? He DID spare Sasuke for whatever reason.

"It's a price I'll pay to get my revenge." stated the Uchiha clan member.

"I'm not sure if killing your brother will get your sanity back...what if someone else comes along and you want revenge on them?" inquired the chunin.

"Then I shall have my revenge on them as well." explained the teenage boy.

Naruto sighed. It was all too clear that Sasuke's cursed mark and his desire for revenge had taken a toll on his mind.

However, something told Naruto that Sasuke wasn't fully mentally stable to begin with.

Unfortunately, it seemed that there was no reasoning with him.

The only thing he could do was defend himself.

Sasuke charged towards him with a Chidori.

Naruto countered by tossing a Rasengan at him.

Sasuke quickly evaded it. He was rather impressed that Naruto could wield the Rasengan efficiently. Even the Fourth Hokage had trouble learning the technique, yet alone learning it.

He then tossed kunai at Naruto.

Naruto leapt out of the way.

He then punched Sasuke in the face.

Sasuke decided that perhaps he would try using his cursed seal.

Now seemed as good of as time as any.

It had grown stronger since his meeting with the Sound Four, though it was still similar in appearance than before.

Unfortunately for Naruto, this made him a lot faster.

He thought about what to do. He wasn't going to win at this rate.

Naruto decided to use shadow clones to back him up. It didn't work against Kimimaro, but Sasuke wasn't nearly as strong as Kimimaro was.

He wasn't able to summon so many clones since he had already sent out so many against the bone ninja, but he could still summon a squad of them.

It seemed that he now had an upper hand, though it wouldn't be surprising if his opponent could figure out who the REAL Naruto was.

The other clones did not have a jinchuriki mark on their abdomen. It was difficult to create a perfect replica of himself.

However, Sasuke was anything if not persistent.

He wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan if he could help it.

The brunette would have a lot of power at his disposal if he obtained it. Perhaps he could use Amaterasu. They say that water wouldn't extinguish the flames, unless it was from an exceptionally powerful water jutsu.

He decided to use the second stage of the cursed seal for the first time. It seemed like the best way to get past Naruto's clones.

Sasuke had to admit, it was surprising that he now had wings. He knew based on his own cursed seal what people would transform into when they used the second stage of the cursed seal (for example, Sakon and Ukon transformed into identical demons, but with armor on different arms), but he wasn't expecting that.

Naruto was surprised at the occurrence as well.

For some strange reason, Sasuke now looked like a gargoyle.

Could it be that the second stage of the cursed seal transformed people into monsters?

In Kidomaru's case, it simply made him look more like a spider. It was still scary though.

Naruto was intimidated by Sasuke's new appearance.

Unfortunately, the wings were not just for show.

Sasuke began to fly.

Naruto was surprised.

Unfortunately for Naruto, this meant that taijutsu wouldn't work. He could still toss a Rasengan, but it was difficult to hit Sasuke in midair.

And to make matters worse, he was attacking him with a Chidori...but not just any Chidori.

It had been enhanced with dark chakra.

"Aargh!" shouted Naruto as he was zapped.

Fortunately, he was alright.

However, the attack had taken out much of his chakra.

He probably couldn't take another powerful attack like that.

It looked as if he was going to have to call upon the power of the nine-tails.

"Can you help me out?" asked Naruto.

 **"Why should I?"** inquired Kurama.

"Sasuke has gone off the deep end...I'm kind of worried that he's going to hurt people." explained the blonde chunin.

 **"He's gone off the deep end, you say?"** asked the nine-tailed fox.

"Yeah. He's siding with Orochimaru!" exclaimed the boy.

 **"Well, he's not my favorite person in the world. He's the type of person who would use me as a weapon. I'm a living creature, not a weapon!"** exclaimed Kurama.

"Is that why you attacked the Leaf Village?" asked Naruto.

 **"Pretty much."** explained Kurama.

"So will you help me out?" inquired the chunin.

 **"Fine, but don't expect too much chakra."** explained Kurama.

Naruto used Kurama's chakra to become stronger.

Claws extended from his fingertips and he grew fangs.

Three tails appeared as well.

Naruto charged at Sasuke.

For a moment, it seemed that they were equally matched.

Naruto's Rasengans were now orange in color, and were more powerful than before.

Perhaps the fight would end in a stalemate, which would allow Sasuke to be taken back to Vale.

He would receive comeuppance for his actions, but at least he would return.

However, the one thing that Naruto had forgotten was that Sasuke was big on illusions.

He ended up striking a genjutsu version of him.

Naruto found that to be curious. He stretched out his hand but it simply went through him.

"What is going on?" asked Naruto.

Suddenly, the real Sasuke attacked Naruto from behind with another Chidori.

"Aargh!" shouted the blonde chunin.

Naruto passed out on the ground.

Sasuke then pulled out a sword.

However, he started to have second thoughts on going through with killing Naruto.

Perhaps he was going a bit far with his revenge. Naruto had warned him that he was becoming insane. He still wasn't as crazy as the Sound Four were, but he did have hallucinations of his brother every now and then.

Even so, he figured that since he had his cursed seal already it was too late to bail out on joining Orochimaru. Especially since it was his second stage of his cursed seal.

However, he decided that perhaps killing Naruto to unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan wasn't worth it. It would make him a bit TOO much like his brother.

So, he decided that he would spare Naruto.

He flew away, ready to join Orochimaru as his apprentice.

By the way, hadn't Naruto joined Jiraiya as HIS apprentice? Jiraiya had already been training an apprentice, but there was room for one more.

It was kind of ironic.

Kurama was relieved to be still alive. For a moment there he thought that he was going to die.

Naruto would have died as well, but he wasn't terribly concerned about his wellbeing. Although to be fair, it wasn't he who sealed the nine-tailed fox inside of himself. Minato Namikaze had chosen his son for whatever reason.

Perhaps he wanted Vale to remember him as a hero, not a monster. Unfortunately, people considered Naruto to be a monster. Well, not anymore. But they did in the past.

Fortunately, Naruto was discovered by Weiss.

"What happened?" asked Weiss.

"Sasuke beat me up..." noted Naruto. And unfortunately, he was gone.

Weiss picked up Naruto and decided to take him back to Vale.

Unfortunately, it seemed that they wouldn't be able to bring Sasuke home.

He had made his choice, and they could not change that.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Sasuke is here." said Adam.

"Good, I will have use for him." explained Orochimaru.

"Was it all worth it? You lost the Sound Four AND Kimimaro on this mission." explained Kabuto.

"Yes, yes, but now I have access to the Sharingan." stated the Sannin.

When the time came, he would have access to the kekkei genkai.

It was a shame that Itachi had wiped out most of the clan. It would have made obtaining the Sharingan that much easier if there were more Uchiha clan members alive.

But as it was, there were only a small handful left.

However, there was still one question that he was asking himself. Why didn't Itachi kill his brother Sasuke?

Granted, Itachi sparing Sasuke had worked in his favor, but it was still perplexing.

Sasuke arrived in his chambers.

"Ah, Sasuke. I see that you've arrived. I won't be able to use your body just yet, but I shall in three years time." stated Orochimaru.

"You couldn't wait for me, could you?" asked Sasuke.

"He had necrosis." explained Kabuto.

If Orochimaru had waited longer, his host body would have given up on him. And he would be dead.

"I see." nodded Sasuke.

Well, even if Orochimaru couldn't lend him HIS power, he could still train him to be his apprentice.

That would slide, for now.

"Now then...for now, I'll have you train with Adam Taurus. I'll have you train under me when you're ready." explained Orochimaru.

Sasuke decided that was reasonable. Orochimaru probably had a brutal training regime. He possibly wouldn't be ready to handle it.

Granted, Adam Taurus was very aggressive, but he was still more manageable.

 _Meanwhile..._

"I cannot believe we failed the mission!" exclaimed Ruby.

"I'm sorry Ruby, we did the best we could." stated Yang.

"Well, I'm grateful that we're all still alive. But we won't be ready to go out on more missions until we've sufficiently recovered." explained the teenage girl. They had used up quite a bit of chakra in their fights and it would take some time for them to recover from being drained.

Yang wondered what she was going to do until then.

How was she going to move on from Sasuke?

She decided to go for a walk, though that wasn't making things better.

However, she came across an interesting sight.

Three genin named Russell, Dove, and Thresh were bullying Choji Akimichi.

"You are so fat!" exclaimed Russell.

"Is your mother a hippo?" inquired Dove.

"Nice meeting you, tubby!" bellowed Thresh.

"Stop it! Leave me alone!" demanded Choji.

Russell simply snickered.

"Were they friends of Cardin?" asked Yang. Cardin wasn't a bully nowadays.

Still, they reminded them of him...back when they were in prime.

Yang decided to do something. She would defend her sister if SHE was being bullied. So she figured that she could do the same for Choji since people were ganging up on him.

"What are you doing?" asked Yang.

"We're making fun of fatso here!" exclaimed Russell. Wasn't it obvious?

"You should stop that. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a gorgeous body." explained the blonde. Of course, if everyone had a gorgeous body, NOBODY would stand out.

"That's easy for you to say! You look like a supermodel!" shouted Dove.

Yang raised up her hair, revealing a pimple on her forehead.

"You were saying?" asked Yang.

"I guess you may have a point. But why exactly does he have to eat so much?" asked Thresh.

"Do you feel like eating after long missions?" inquired the blonde.

"Well..." answered Dove.

To be honest, she had a point.

"Alright, you have us convinced. We'll stop bullying him." explained Russell.

"Good. You do know how Cardin ended up, don't you?" asked Yang.

"You've got a point." noted Thresh. For them, it had been terrifying. They had seen the Chunin Exams preliminaries on TV. Their instructor decided that they shouldn't attend since the Forest Of Death could be potentially dangerous for new genin. Experienced genin would be safe though there was no guarantee that they could win.

The three of them left.

"Thanks..." said Choji.

"You're welcome!" exclaimed Yang.

Fortunately, it seemed that there was still hope for Yang's future. She was still going to miss Sasuke, however.

Ruby approached her.

"By the way, did you think we did the right thing, wiping out the Sound ninja that had attacked us?" asked Ruby.

"They were kind of horrible people, Ruby." said Yang.

"Yes, yes. But was it their fault that they became evil? I suspect that Orochimaru corrupted them." noted the brunette.

"Either way, let's not blame ourselves for their deaths." explained the blonde.

Ruby nodded. They did what they had to do, nothing more.

 _Meanwhile..._

On the lighter side of things, since Naruto was lucky enough to still be alive, Jiraiya had decided to continue training him.

Naruto decided to see if he could summon more foxes.

He summoned Isla again.

"Need something?" asked Isla.

"I'm just training myself." noted Naruto. Something told him that he would meet Sasuke again.

When that happened, he wanted to be ready.

Likewise, Weiss summoned Gamabunta.

"Yes, Weiss?" asked Gamabunta.

"There wouldn't happen to be more toads that I could summon, would there? You're powerful but perhaps I should try summoning more than just one." stated Weiss.

"There are. However, it would be best if you focused on summoning on only one for now." explained Gamabunta. Summoning toads as big as Gamabunta was expensive for her chakra.

Luckily, she would gain more as she continued to train. Perhaps in time, she could use Demonic Illusion: Toad Confrontation Chant. It seemed that while Jiraiya wasn't good at genjutsu, Weiss had decent potential to do so.

Isla hugged Naruto tightly.

However, he got a face full of marshmallow.

Jiraiya felt rather jealous.

"Can you breathe?" asked Isla.

"I think so..." nodded Naruto. However, it was still rather embarrassing.

Weiss rolled her eyes. Isla was one immodest lady. And why did she have such large breasts? She could give Tsunade a run for her money.

"By the way, have you heard anything from your father?" asked Jiraiya.

"He's been awfully quiet lately." noted Weiss.

A little bit too quiet, if she asked her.

Was he plotting something?

It wouldn't be too surprising. Jacques didn't marry for love, he only married for money.

And unfortunately, he was willing to hurt people in order to get what he wanted.

She began to worry.

 _Elsewhere..._

"Am I unfit to be a leader? This mission didn't go too well." noted Jaune.

Would things have gone different if someone was in charge? Shino would have made for a good leader, or maybe Shikamaru.

"I think you're a great leader. It's just that Sasuke DIDN'T want to be rescued." explained Hinata.

Perhaps if he did want to be saved, the mission would have gone differently.

Personally Hinata didn't think that she would betray Vale. People said that she was...incorruptible.

But unfortunately, Sasuke was not. At the very least, Orochimaru was capable of corrupting him, like he had done with many before him.

"True. By the way, I'm worried about Kiba. He stabbed himself multiple times." noted the blonde chunin.

"That was concerning...but the doctors assured us that he would be fine. Akamaru's currently with Zwei. Apparently he'll be fine too." stated the kunoichi.

"That's a relief." noted Jaune. Still, he was worried what Orochimaru could do with Sasuke at his hands.

Luckily, he wasn't able to use him as a host body. But the world did not need another Orochimaru. Not at all.

Hopefully Sasuke could still be saved, before it was too late.

 _Meanwhile..._

Cinder contacted Salem on her pager.

She was careful to make sure she wasn't noticed. If her cover was blown too early, chances are she would be executed. Vale did not take terrorism lightly, especially since they were still recovering from the wound that Orochimaru had inflicted upon them.

"Has Orochimaru recovered?" asked Cinder.

"Mostly. However, I'm still assigning this mission to you. Tsunade happens to know Orochimaru rather well which means that she'll be prepared for an attack by him. But if you manage to infiltrate Vale and make its citizens frightened enough, it will inevitably attract Grimm. The more you make them afraid, the bigger the attack will be." explained Salem.

Cinder nodded. Personally she wanted to make Vale terrified beyond belief. That would attract a MASSIVE wave of Grimm.

Unfortunately, Roman's plan hadn't been overly successful. There had certainly been property damage, but nobody had died. As such, Vale was still motivated. Not quite as motivated as before, but they still weren't feeling sad.

However, she had decided at this point she would get her hands own early. She still had a use for Roman, but for now he would remain in jail.

She just had to come up with the best method of sowing fear among the populace.

She noticed that the Vytal Tournament was up, and that it would be televised.

It would be a perfect opportunity.

Cinder smiled wickedly.

 _As in canon, Sasuke has joined Orochimaru's side. However, I'm going to do something completely different for this next arc. What am I doing you ask? I'm doing an original arc._

 _Whose going to be the villain? It's going to be none other than Weiss's father! However, I'm not going to spare the details. Just know that he's going to do something evil and that Weiss is going to have to try to stop him. She won't have to fight his forces alone, but she'll still have to fight him._

 _Why isn't Cinder going to be the arc villain, you ask? Because it's not time for her plans to be set in action just yet. But rest assured, the opportunity to strike was fast approaching. She's like a Goliath, waiting for the best moment to attack. And yes, I'm comparing her to a Grimm. If you've watched RWBY, it wouldn't be hard to see why._


	45. Chapter 45: Conspiracy

_In this chapter, Weiss is going to investigate a conspiracy. Jacques Schnee is plotting something bad. He's kind of the villain of this arc here. Let's just say that his less-than-selfless behavior has kind of reached its peak._

 **Chapter 45: Conspiracy**

Shortly after Sasuke had deprived Vale of his company, Weiss received a news report on her scroll.

Apparently, General Ironwood was planning a big speech.

From the looks of it, there had been a decrease in Grimm attacks on the Atlas area, so he wanted to thank everyone for their support.

Shrugging, Weiss decided to attend.

Strangely enough, though Winter was there, her father wasn't. Whitley wasn't present either.

Perhaps they had a meeting to attend to.

Weiss decided to sit back and listen.

Nearby were the Sand Siblings. She was happy to see them again.

Gaara was happy to see her again.

With him was a lady that Weiss hadn't seen before. Her name was Sylvia. She was wearing a strapless dress...that was of course colored silver. She was a lovely woman that had golden hair...which was ironic considering what her name was.

She was wearing white gloves.

However, she decided not to judge that.

General Ironwood seemed fond of her, as he was allowing to her stand right beside her. Winter was nearby as well, but she seemed to be practicing her fencing instead of focusing on the general.

"Greetings. I figured I should thank you all for your efforts in curbing the Grimm population. We are still divided, but at least one with Vale. The other three kingdoms will hopefully follow our example." noted the general.

There were still plenty of missions, but these missions were not as dangerous as the ones previously.

"I'm not much of a party animal, but I still wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your eff-"

"Die, General Ironwood!" exclaimed a member of the White Fang.

"Oh no! It's the White Fang!" shouted Sylvia.

The White Fang member lunged at General Ironwood.

Fortunately, he was able to hold him without much effort.

However, something told Weiss that he didn't come alone. It would be foolhardy to attack General Ironwood without an attack plan.

Sure enough, more of them were coming.

They started shooting at General Ironwood.

Since he was the target, he decided to flee.

Winter blocked the bullets with an ice wall.

Not wanting the general to be assassinated, Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro began to battle the White Fang.

Fortunately, since they had been trained for combat pretty well, they were ready to handle them.

Wanting to minimize their losses, the White Fang members eventually decided to retreat.

Weiss decided to see if she could at least subdue a few of them.

She got the feeling that Adam Taurus or Orochimaru had masterminded the attack, but she wasn't sure why they were attacking General Ironwood considering that the White Fang had provoked Atlas instead of the other way around by murdering the Kazekage.

As Weiss chased after the White Fang members, she knocked off a member's mask.

However, what she saw next surprised her.

The White Fang member she had attacked wasn't a Faunus, but a human.

The man did not attack Weiss, but rather retreated.

However, the implications were obvious.

Someone was trying to murder General Ironwood, and someone was trying to frame the White Fang for it.

But who would want to do both?

That was the mystery.

Unfortunately, the White Fang members managed to escape. Some of them hadn't, but many of them had.

General Ironwood would interrogate them, but it was only a matter of time before these White Fang impersonators attempted another assault.

However, everyone seemed to think that these people were legitimately the White Fang. They found it hard to believe that humans would dress like them considering that Faunus discrimination wasn't out of place in Atlas.

For now, she decided to go back home. She wasn't too fond of her father, but she had been away from home for some time.

Besides, she was a bit shaken up by what she had seen.

She returned to the mansion.

However, what she saw next surprised her.

Jacques Schnee was on the phone with someone.

"What am I paying you for?" asked Jacques. He had expected someone to do a job right, but they hadn't.

"This is only a one-time thing. We'll do better this time. Won't we, girls?" inquired the man.

Apparently, there were two ladies with him.

"You'd better." nodded the white-haired man. "To be honest, I expected more of you. You have a reputation ahead of you."

"We will. Though to be honest, we did lose to a blonde girl once. It was embarrassing for all of us. I was a laughingstock, though luckily it had died down since then." said this mysterious individual.

"You were trounced by a blonde girl?" asked Jacques.

"Yeah...she was a teenage girl...and she fought with her fists..." explained the man.

"Interesting...but I don't see how that concerns me. Just get back to work. I don't want you to leave a job unfinished." stated Jacques.

"Yes, Mr. Schnee. We'll be more successful next time." said the man.

Weiss Schnee knew that something was wrong. She could tell that his father was bribing someone, and knowing her father, he wouldn't bribe someone if he had good intentions.

"Good. I've spent a lot of money on this and I don't want the plan to fail. In fact, there might be more at stake than the money that I owe you." noted Jacques Schnee.

He actually was a bit worried, though he tried to stay calm while talking to his employee on the phone.

"We won't fail you again!" exclaimed the man.

"You had better not." warned Jacques. Otherwise, he would find someone else to do his bidding.

Weiss Schnee left wondering what she had just witnesed.

Jacques left his office. He was unusually cheerful.

"How are you doing, Weiss! I'm going on my cofee break!" exclaimed Jacques.

"I'm...doing fine." stated Weiss.

"Very good! You can go be with what's-his-name, the lecherous toad sage!" shouted the man.

"His name is Jiraiya." explained the kunoichi.

"What? Sure, whatever." nodded Jacques Schnee.

Again, Weiss knew that something was wrong. Jacques Schnee was never this cheerful.

That was what worried her.

However, she still did not know what he was planning.

It wouldn't have had anything to do with what had happened during General Ironwood's grand speech, would it?

They probably weren't completely unrelated.

But for now, she had no concrete evidence to prove who was responsible for the assassination attempt.

Still, it wouldn't be a bad idea to tell her friends about the phone call. While Jacques Schnee regularly chatted with his employers, this did NOT seem like a normal phone call.

She decided to go tell Ruby.

Taking a shuttle, she went towards Vale.

Ruby noticed that Weiss seemed upset.

"Hey Weiss. What's the matter?" asked Ruby.

"It's my father. I think he's up to something." explained Weiss.

"What makes you say that?" inquired the brunette girl.

"I heard him talking on the phone about someone failing him..." stated the teenage girl.

"It does sound like something is wrong..." noted Ruby.

"Earlier today, someone attempted to assassinate General Ironwood." noted Weiss.

"I heard about the news. They say it was the White Fang!" exclaimed the kunoichi.

"Yes...but here's the thing. When I knocked off one of their masks, I discovered it was a human, not a Faunus." explained the white-haired girl.

"What?!" shouted Ruby.

"I know. It's quite unusual. I think someone might be trying to frame the White Fang for the murder, so they can throw the authorities off their trail." noted Weiss.

"Well, that narrows down the suspect list. It would take a lot of money to pay all those people to dress up as the White Fang and try to assassinate someone." answered Ruby. Assassins didn't work for free.

"I know." nodded Weiss. This made her all the more suspicious of her father.

However, it would be hasty to launch an accusation against him. There was more than one wealthy person in Atlas, and for the time being, she did not know the culprit's motive.

Surely there had to be a reason for the culprit's behavior.

"Do you know who was hired to do the job of killing Ironwood?" asked Ruby.

"Unfortunately, no. I heard my father talk to someone on the phone, but I don't know who it was." stated Weiss.

She could try asking her father, but it wouldn't be hard for him to lie about it. He could claim that it was one of his business partners. And unfortunately, she wouldn't have evidence to contradict his claims.

"Do you have any hints?" inquired Ruby.

"Well, the man on the phone mentioned about once fighting a blonde girl who fights with her fists...I'm not sure how much that will help though." stated Weiss.

Ruby's eyes widened.

"I might know who that girl is!" exclaimed the teenage girl.

"Who?" asked Weiss.

"It might be my sister Yang. We should ask her." stated Ruby.

Ruby approached Yang.

"What's up, sis? Kakashi said that now that Sasuke's gone he's replacing him with Choji...likewise, Oscar is joining Team ACTS...they're known as Team SOTA now. And yes, it sounds like Soda." stated Yang.

"We're working with Choji now?" asked Ruby.

"I just befriended him. How ironic." remarked the blonde.

"We have something important to tell you. We suspect that my father is up to no good." explained Weiss.

"You do?" asked Yang. He always did seem kind of shady.

"I heard him talking on to someone who had apparently failed him. We suspect that he's bribing him to do something illegal." said Weiss. Chances are it might be connected to what had happened at General Ironwood's speech.

"How does that connect to me?" inquired the blonde.

"You wouldn't have happened to have fought a criminal mastermind, would you?" asked Ruby.

"Well, it wasn't Roman, in case you were wondering. It was a guy named Junior. He always has those girls with him for some reason." said Yang.

"Now that I thought of it, he did mention having girls with him..." noted Weiss.

"We might have a lead. We should investigate." explained the brunette.

Just in case, they brought Choji with him. However, they had to stop for ice cream along the way because of that.

However, they eventually arrived at Junior's lair.

It hadn't changed much from when Yang had last visited.

Having said that, the door was locked.

Luckily, this wasn't an obstacle.

Yang simply used her strength to bust the door open.

She decided to look around.

There was no sign of Junior or the girls.

"Is this place deserted?" inquired Ruby.

Suddenly, Choji burst through the floor.

"I think you've been packing a few pounds, Choji." said Yang.

"I know..." nodded Choji.

"Wait a minute...I think he uncovered a secret passageway!" nodded Ruby.

As it turned out, there was one.

The four of them decided to investigate, careful not to make noise.

Their suspicions were confirmed.

Junior, Melanie, and Militia were all putting on White Fang costumes.

"Jacques Schnee sure is paying us a lot of money, isn't he?" asked Melanie.

"Yes. It seems he really wants the general dead. But why the costumes?" inquired Militia. Granted, she didn't look bad in a White Fang costume, but she liked her dress.

"Let's just say that he has a bone to pick with the White Fang...they're a threat to his company." explained Junior.

Weiss Schnee's eyes widened. Her suspicions were confirmed.

Her own father was plotting murder!

It seemed that Jacques Schnee had graduated from simply mistreating Faunus (and not being the best father in Remnant) to attempted assassination.

She had to warn the general immediately.

Unfortunately, at that very moment, Choji let out a loud burp.

"Aw, crap!" shouted Yang.

They were discovered.

"You again? I should have known you would stick your nose in my business once more!" bellowed Junior.

"You're a real pain, you know that?" asked Melanie.

"What she said!" agreed Militia.

"Get them, boys! We're going to have to inform Mr. Schnee about this." explained the man.

Hopefully their men could subdue them while they took their leave.

Fortunately, the goons that Junior had weren't strong. Yang had taken several of them by herself.

However, Junior had enough of them to hold them off while he made a getaway.

"Darn it! Junior's getting away while we're stuck fighting!" bellowed Yang.

"I know..." nodded Ruby.

"If only I hadn't burped..." said Choji.

Ruby burped.

"Whoops!" exclaimed Ruby.

Weiss shrugged.

Meanwhile, Junior informed Jacques Schnee that there was a snag in their plans.

"I hate to break it to you, boss, but we've been discovered!" exclaimed Junior.

"They figured out our plans?!" shouted Mr. Schnee.

"Yes!" nodded Melanie.

Jacques Schnee tightened his fist.

"No matter. It's my word against theirs. I can still pull this off." explained Jacques.

"But, one of the ninja that was with them was your daughter." stated Militia.

"What?!" shouted Jacques Schnee.

"Yes, it was." nodded Melanie.

Jacques Schnee sighed. That made things more complicated. If his own daughter was willing to testify against him, it would make winning a courtroom battle that much more difficult.

But he had a plan. He would simply explain to Weiss that Junior and the twins were forcing him to do THEIR bidding, and that he was paying them protection money.

He wouldn't sell them out to the cops, of course...chances are they would escape and plot revenge against him. That could result in HIM being assassinated.

Weiss wouldn't buy that story, of course, but he didn't know that.

Fortunately, Weiss was able to freeze the thugs in ice.

"That's c-c-c-old!" bellowed one of the frozen thugs.

Unfortunately, Junior and the twins were gone.

"We couldn't stop them from getting away!" complained Ruby.

"That's not the problem. We have to warn Ironwood." explained Weiss.

Quickly, she contacted the general on her scroll.

"Yes, Weiss?" asked the general.

"Jacques Schnee is plotting to kill you!" exclaimed Weiss.

"He is?" inquired General Ironwood. He thought it was the White Fang, though he thought it was odd that the White Fang were on the attack, considering that, based on what they had heard, Orochimaru was still getting used to the new body that his servants had given him. There had been no sign of Adam Taurus, either.

"Yes!" nodded the white-haired girl.

"Rest assured, I will interrogate him. But for now, I need to avoid being in public." explained the man. That way the White Fang (or who looked like the White Fang) wouldn't be able to find him. Regardless of who was responsible for the attack, he had to take precautions.

Weiss nodded.

Meanwhile, Jacques gave another Junior a phone call.

"Status report?" asked Jacques.

"Sorry, boss, I don't think we'll be able to strike again. Those four kids are inevitably going to hunt us down." explained Junior. And he knew from experience that Yang was an incredible fighter.

"That's alright. I've decided to do the job myself. Regardless of who kills him at this point, people will suspect that the White Fang is responsible." stated Jacques.

"Does that mean we won't get paid?" asked Melanie.

"Oh no no no no. You're still getting paid. Your work is done. I know exactly how to kill him now." explained the man.

Jacques Schnee pulled out a bottle of poison.

 _A few hours later..._

General Ironwood sighed. Just as it seemed that there was peace in Atlas, someone had come along to ruin it.

Unfortunately, the attempted assassination had resulted in a slight increase in Grimm activity.

However, he knew that things would only get worse if he were assassinated, so he decided that he should stay out of public eye.

He was much safer in his office than he was out in the open.

But unbeknownst to him, Jacques Schnee was about to make another attempt on his life.

At that very moment, he heard knocking on the door.

General Ironwood was hesitant to answer. It could be another assassin.

"Who is it?" asked General Ironwood.

"It's me, Sylvia!" shouted Sylvia.

Curious, he decided to open the door a crack.

As it turned out, it was Sylvia.

General Ironwood sighed in relief. It seemed that it was none other than his assistant.

He hadn't known her for too long, but Sylvia had pledged loyalty to him almost as soon as they had met. He doubted that he would betray him.

However, he discovered that Jacques Schnee was with her.

"Jacques Schnee? What are you doing here?" asked General Ironwood.

"I just figured that I would express my sympathies. You just had an attempt on your life by the White Fang. It seems that they've decided that you're their mortal enemy. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them thought I was their mortal enemy." noted Jacques Schnee.

General Ironwood admitted he did work for them for the sake of preserving Atlas, but it seemed that times had changed.

"They always have it out for us humans, don't they?" inquired the man.

"Jacques, there's something we need to discuss. Your daughter claimed that you were trying to assassinate me...and that the White Fang members that attacked me were actually hitmen that you hired to dress up as them so you could frame them for the murder." explained General Ironwood.

"She did? To be honest, we don't see eye to eye. Apparently, she thinks I've been treating the Faunus a little bit too roughly. Perhaps she thinks I've gone off the deep end. Rest assured, James, I'm still quite sane." stated Jacques.

"Alright then." nodded the general. However, he still wasn't quite sure that he should trust Mr. Schnee.

"Rest assured, the White Fang will not attack you again. Not on my watch." assured the white-haired man.

To be honest to himself, that was actually a half-truth.

"Good. Atlas needs a general." explained General Ironwood. Without one, who would command their armies?

"By the way, aside from the assassination attempt, things have been quite peaceful. I figured I should thank you for your hard work. How about a toast?" asked Jacques.

"A...toast?" inquired James.

Sylvia pulled out two glasses of wine.

"Yes. Cheers, I say." said Jacques.

For a moment, James decided to drink his alcoholic beverage.

However, he remembered what Weiss had told him.

Was she delusional? Or...

"Would you...mind taking a sip of my wine for me?" asked James.

"Sylvia, why don't you do so?" inquired Jacques.

Sylvia nodded.

She took a sip of the wine.

James waited for a moment.

"This is really good wine, if I do say so myself." answered the woman.

He sighed in relief. Perhaps the wine wasn't poisoned.

However, when he drank the wine, he started to cough.

"Is something...the matter?" asked Sylvia.

He then clutched his stomach.

"Iron...wood?" inquired the woman.

General Ironwood collapsed on the ground.

"Ironwood!" shouted Sylvia.

While Sylvia was mortified by what had befallen Ironwood, Jacques Schnee was pleased.

However, his facial indication indicated otherwise. On the outside, he was just as frightened as Sylvia was. But on the inside, he was happy. His plan had worked!

Now he just had to come up with an explanation as to why the wine had been poisoned.

"It must have been the White Fang! They sold me poisoned wine!" exclaimed Jacques Schnee.

"That's terrible!" shouted Sylvia. No doubt they had disguised themselves and had tricked the Schnee Dust Company executives into drinking the tainted alcohlic beverages.

"James Ironwood has paid the price for crossing me." thought the man.

 _Is James Ironwood really dead? And why did Jacques Schnee plot to have him killed? And why didn't Sylvia fall victim to the poison? Don't worry, I'll explain. But at the moment, I'll leave this on a cliffhanger._

 _Bye!_


	46. Chapter 46: Jacques Exposed

_Time to explore Jacques's motivations. What drove him to commit murder? I bet you want to find out. Believe it or not, he has a motive, though it's not necessarily just.  
_

 _And yes, he's going to get in trouble with the law. People are not going to take the attempted assassination of General Ironwood lightly, are they?_

 _As a side note, this arc might be the last appearance of Jacques. Unless I decide to make him the villain again._

 **Chapter 46: Jacques Exposed**

Sylvia collapsed on the ground, unable to believe what had happened.

She passed out on the floor.

"I wonder how many people are going to attend James's funeral." said Jacques.

Meanwhile, Weiss went to search for her father.

Based on what Junior and the twins had said, it was he who was planning to murder James Ironwood.

She had to stop him from killing the general, before it was too late.

But unfortunately, she couldn't find him in the mansion.

Where had he gone?

Was he off on one of his business meetings? Her father hadn't informed her via her scroll where he was going.

She tried calling him, but she didn't receive a response.

"How do I find him?" thought Weiss.

However, though she wasn't able to find her father, she was able to find Whitley.

She had to ask him something quickly.

"What's the matter, sister?" asked Whitley.

"Whitley, do you know where Dad is?" asked Weiss.

"He went to visit General Ironwood. Wanted to express his sympathies." explained Whitley. It seemed that someone was trying to murder him, and that they weren't going to give up easily.

"WHAT?!" shouted the white-haired girl.

"Is something wrong?" asked Whitley.

Weiss ran out from the door.

"I just wanted to talk." said the white-haired boy. Believe it or not, he actually DIDN'T want to act like a spoiled brat to Weiss today.

Quickly, she informed Ruby, Naruto, and Yang of the situation. They were just as frightened as she was.

They were on their way.

However, it seemed that they were already too late.

General Ironwood was on the floor.

"No..." said Weiss.

She noticed her father was nearby, and glared at him.

"Weiss, what brings you here? I thought you were at home." explained Jacques.

"Did you kill him?" asked the teenage girl.

"What makes you say that?" inquired the man.

"I heard you talking about the phone about someone not doing their job right." explained Weiss. She knew that it was now Junior who was he was calling.

"I may have done something that wasn't...legal." admitted Jacques.

Weiss's eyes widened.

"Why, father? How could you do this?" asked Weiss. General Ironwood had been her friend.

Jacques sighed.

Now seemed as good of a time to explain his actions as any.

"I suppose it all began a few weeks ago. I suffered a major blow to my corporation when the White Fang hijacked a large amount of dust, so I asked General Ironwood for money. But unfortunately, the general refused to do so. He claimed that the military needed the money in order to keep the city safe. I kept trying to reason with him, but he refused. He claimed that he needed the money to keep the city safe of Grimm."

"This only infuriated me. How could he have the audacity to do this to me? Who did he think supplied him with the dust that fueled his army? I considered plotting my revenge, but I had nothing to gain from doing so, so I decided not to carry it out. However, that would soon change. I happened to run into Sylvia, who was mugged by the White Fang. She assumed that the White Fang were up to no good and it was only a matter of time before they plotted something horrendous. I decided to give her money, since as you may know, I despised the White Fang."

"That gave me an idea. What if I framed the White Fang for doing something grandiose? That would give the White Fang many enemies, and they would inevitably go to war with the White Fang. In fact, they would most likely be wiped out. The only problem was...what should I frame them for? There was more than one possibility."

"That's when General Ironwood did. He consoled Sylvia and granted her the gift of chakra so that this would not happen again. She did not know what her semblance was, but she was now perfectly capable of fending herself. She thanked Ironwood for his selflessness. That's when I got the idea of assassinating General Ironwood."

"I had Sylvia seduce General Ironwood, attempting to persuade him to allow her to become the heiress of his wealth. She eventually succeeded. From there, I would be easily persuade her to give me the money that I was looking for. I just needed to remove General Ironwood from the picture. That's when I carried out my plan."

"But unfortunately, things did not go smoothly. The first attempt to assassinate General Ironwood failed, so I was forced to improvise. However, I realized that since everyone had seen the White Fang attacking the general from their perspective, I was exempt from accusation. So, I did the job myself. I knew that General Ironwood would potentially be suspicious of me after what you had told him, but I had the fortune of discovering what Sylvia's semblance after one of my security cameras scanned her chakra. As luck would have it, her semblance protected her from poison, so I knew if I had her drink the wine, General Ironwood would not suspect a thing."

"Now that General Ironwood is dead, I think I'll be richer and more powerful than ever, wouldn't you say?"

"You're not going to get away with this!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Oh really? What makes you think that you can stop me? Did you record the confession, by any chance?" asked Jacques.

"Damn it!" shouted Yang. Unfortunately, she did not. Perhaps she should have tried doing so. Jacques likely would have noticed at some point, but still.

Maybe she should have considered wearing a wire? Then again, those were itchy.

"Accuse me all you want, I happen to have a very good lawyer." stated the man.

"Why do bad guys always call their lawyers?" asked Naruto.

Ruby shrugged. Then again, if she was innocent of a crime she had allegedly committed, she would probably call her lawyer too.

Weiss tightened her fist.

However, at that very moment, someone grabbed him.

It was James.

"Ironwood! You're alive!" shouted Ruby.

"But...how?" asked Jacques.

"Fortunately, I happen to be a cyborg, which have its perks...such as having resistance to poison." stated General Ironwood.

"What?!" exclaimed the man.

"I know. It's a bit of a secret. You're in a lot of trouble, Jacques Schnee." explained the general.

"Oh? Do you have any evidence against me?" inquired Jacques.

"Actually, yes." said General Ironwood.

General Ironwood grabbed the bottle of poison that had been hidden in Jacques's coat.

Jacques's eyes widened with surprise.

"But, how-"

"I'm good at finding hidden objects. One of my cybernetic implants came with a scanner." explained the general.

It was a bit disheartening that he needed robotic parts to replace the ones that he had lost, but that was not to say that it didn't come without its perks.

Sweat began to fall down Jacques's face.

It looked as if he was in trouble.

"Consider yourself to be arrested, Jacques." stated James. People weren't going to be so willing to forgive him for his conspiracy, even if nobody had gotten hurt during his attempted attack on his life.

However, Jacques didn't seem so worried.

James noticed Jacques's expression, and wondered what was going on.

"Jacques, I have evidence against you that can be used in a court of law. Why are you smiling?" inquired the general. He may have a good attorney but James happened to know a good prosecutor.

"To be honest, I figured I might get caught. Even my wealth has its limitations. So I came up with a contingency plan." explained Jacques.

"A...contingency plan?" asked Weiss.

Jacques pulled out a remote from his coat.

It didn't look dangerous, so General Ironwood had thought nothing of it.

However, as it turned out, it was indeed dangerous.

He pressed one of the buttons, and suddenly several robots stormed in the office.

"What the-" exclaimed Ruby.

The robots began to shoot at General Ironwood, forcing him to drop Jacques.

Luckily for the latter, they were careful not to shoot at him. Their AI was fairly decent.

He quickly ran away, eluding the five of them before they could catch him.

"Get back here!" demanded Naruto.

Fortunately, none of the robots were willing to attack Weiss. It seemed that Jacques had programmed the robots not to attack her.

They were still willing to attack everyone else, however.

"Aah!" shouted Naruto, as one of the bullets narrowly missed him.

Ruby parried the bullets with her scythe.

"These robots are fast!" noted Ruby. Not as fast as she was, thank goodness, but they were still agile.

Yang punched one of the robots into scrap metal.

"He went out with a yang!" shouted Yang.

"You sure like making puns." remarked Naruto.

"He's been punished!" exclaimed the blonde.

Naruto chuckled.

They managed to fight off the robots, but by then, Jacques was long gone. The man could run surprisingly fast, though he was not as young as he used to be.

"We lost him!" exclaimed Ruby.

"He's crafty..." noted Weiss.

"I'll say!" nodded Naruto.

"Where did he even go?" asked Yang.

"I can't believe he was using me like this..." said Sylvia.

At this point, she had regained consciousness.

"Well, he wasn't using you when he gave you money." noted Weiss.

Sylvia noted that it was rather relieving that while Jacques Schnee was still evil, he was not purely evil. He at least had some GOOD in him.

Even so, it was all too apparent that Jacques had to be stopped. It was now clear that he was perfectly willing to hurt people in order to get what he wanted, and as long as he was still free, there was nothing stopping from hurting someone else in order to satisfy his desires.

They needed to find him, and soon.

Winter entered the room.

"I heard what happened to General Iron-is he still alive?!" shouted the young woman.

"He is, fortunately.: nodded Weiss. General Ironwood was a lucky man. Someone had tried to kill him, but he was still lucky.

"I'll hunt down the White Fang to make sure this doesn't happen again." answered Winter.

"The White Fang aren't the culprits." explained Ruby.

"What?" asked Winter.

"It's...our father." explained Weiss.

"Father did this?!" exclaimed the young woman.

Sylvia nodded.

Winter found it to be hard to believe, though she knew from experience that her father was determined to stay president. How long had he been president, anyway? And was he even planning to retire?

However, she could tell that Weiss was telling the truth about what their father had done. She would not lie to her.

Besides, Jacques did have a motive. She seemed to recall him wanting money following a White Fang raid.

"I didn't think he would go this far...we need to find him." explained Winter.

"But we don't know where he is." said Weiss.

"I might know where to find him..." stated the young woman.

"You do?" asked Weiss.

"Back in the early days of the Schnee Dust Company, the executives were worried that they would be targeted by the White Fang. So, they built a fortress that they could use to protect themselves." stated the silver-haired woman.

If Jacques Schnee wanted to flee, he would want somewhere secluded where he wouldn't be found.

That fortress would fit the bill.

"That would be an excellent hiding spot." noted Winter's younger sister.

However, it was across the sea, so they needed a boat.

Weiss considered using Gamabunta, but the water looked...salty. Jiraiya had advised her against doing so.

She needed to come up with a different plan.

Naruto summoned Isla. She was a good swimmer, but she couldn't carry all of them.

Like Weiss, Naruto was going to have to think a little harder.

Though a certain fox wouldn't mind wearing a swimsuit. She went for a strapless bikini that was a little skimpy.

Fortunately, General Ironwood was fully willing to use the boat. After all, Jacques Schnee had attempted to poison him.

However, if he was exposed to water for too long, he would rust.

So, he decided to sit out the mission.

Sylvia and Winter would look after him to make sure he recovered from the poison. The effects were starting to wear off.

Since they couldn't confront Jacques by himself and there were likely defenses built within the fortress, Ruby decided to bring help.

The people that volunteered for the mission were Pyrrha, Sun, Choji, Yang, Weiss, Ruby, and Naruto.

"I'm sorry your father is a murderer..." noted Pyrrha. She would be devastated if she found out a member of her family was a killer. It would as if they had been murdered themselves.

"It's alright." nodded Weiss. Her family wasn't the best, but at least her sister was a good person. Whitley was still a spoiled brat however, though at the same time, he wasn't a killer like his father was, or attempted killer anyway.

"You need help in stopping your father?" asked Choji.

"Yes. He's done something very bad." explained Weiss.

"I can imagine." nodded the teenage boy.

It was time to put an end to his corruption.

"It's about time someone brought Jacques to justice for his mistreatment of Faunus." said Sun. Adam Taurus wouldn't be so evil if not for the Schnee Dust Company's treatment of him.

"There wouldn't happen to be food in the fortress, would there?" asked Choji.

"Since it was built as a hideout, there likely is." nodded Yang. Presumably it would be non-perishable food, such as canned food for instance.

"Woohoo!" shouted the teenage boy.

Yang giggled. Choji sure had an appetite.

They could see his fortress out in the distance.

It looked rather imposing. Just how big was the fortress? Winter wasn't quite sure of it herself, but she knew that it was enough to support a large amount of people.

But they could tell that Jacques Schnee was in the fortress somewhere. They could see ships heading towards it.

They considered splitting up, but that might not be the best idea.

For now, they made their approach.

Nearby, Sylvia drank a bottle of arsenic. She had a rather interesting semblance, though she hadn't received ninja training before.

Perhaps she should get a job testing out food for James Ironwood. She could still distinguish the taste of poison from everything else, luckily. She hadn't noticed anything wrong with the wine, but it tasted unusually delicious.

Already, they could tell that Junior's thugs were waiting for them. They were driving boats of their own, though they weren't nearly as big as they were.

It looks like Junior had decided to give them a warm welcome.

There weren't any signs of robots yet, but perhaps they had designed robots that wouldn't rust in water.

 _Meanwhile..._

Jacques sat in a chair, anticipating his next course of action. He had successfully retreated to a safe location, but he wasn't quite sure what to do from there.

He was going to have a hard time continuing his business now that they knew that he was a criminal.

However, he still had enough money at that point that he could live a life of permanent luxury. Not as much luxury as he would have hoped, but his life would still be luxurious.

Even so, he didn't think that he was safe. Weiss knew how he thought, so she would at some level knew where he had gone.

"It's only a matter of time before my daughter comes for me." noted Jacques Schnee. To be honest, he expected that she would eventually figure out where his hideout was.

He considered taking his leave, but to be honest, he wanted to see Weiss's combat prowess for himself. He had been averse to the idea of Weiss becoming a ninja, but he reconsidered when he realized just how strong his daughter was. He still wasn't going to reinherit his eldest daughter, but that was because she wasn't interested in it anymore.

Besides, Jacques had yet to think of a different hiding spot. It would be hard to find a hiding spot that was as good as the one he chose.

However, he was ready to fight her.

Apparently, the Schnee Dust Company had included a superweapon in the fortress. One that could defeat an entire army of Grimm.

And luckily, he had managed to find it.

It certainly looked legendary.

And much to his surprise, it worked well. It seemed that age had not impacted the superweapon's fighting potential.

it would be perfect for dealing with the intruders.

However, he decided it would be best not to use a trump card unless they reached the end of the fortress, where he was residing.

Having said that, he had figured out how to pilot the mecha, though it had taken some time for him to do so.

It put the Atlesian Paladins to shame, that was for certain.

For now, he would use the fortress's security systems. It was certainly filled with them. The SDC wanted to keep intruders out, like the White Fang.

Luckily, he had managed to bring Junior, the twins, and his men with him. There was also the CPU for the fortress, known as Schneenet. But since that was unoriginal he decided to rename it Glacies.

It seemed appropriate.

Whitley had decided to join him as well. Apparently, he had decided to remain loyal to his father.

Like Weiss, he had figured out where his hiding spot was. However, he wasn't sure why his father had chosen to come here. To his knowledge, Jacques was not under attack.

He was unaware that his father had attempted to commit murder.

Personally he would like to see his daughter try to get to him.

The fortress was filled with defenses, but she wouldn't back down from a challenge.

He decided to order his minions, including Glacies, who though she was still controlling the fortress's defenses, had her own mobile unit.

"Melanie, Militia, Whitney, Glacies, and Junior, deal with our guests for me, will you? But remember, leave my daughter for me. That includes you, Whitley." said Jacques.

Whitley nodded. To be honest, he didn't feel like fighting his sister anyway. She was far better in combat.

In fact, Weiss was better at a lot of things than he was. He couldn't help but feel jealous of her sometimes.

"Come to me, dear daughter. I will show you the true might of the Schnee Dust Corporation." explained Jacques Schnee.

He pressed his hands together.

 _It looks like Jacques has been exposed! But now they need to capture him. Unfortunately, he's retreated to his fortress. His fortress of doom. Where could he possibly be hidden?  
_

 _I could have Jacques been arrested right then and there, but there hasn't been much combat in this arc so far. Weiss had fought mooks, both with and without her friends, but that's about it._

 _You don't suppose Weiss might be the main protagonist of this fanfic, would you? I thought it was Naruto and Ruby and first, but now I'm not so sure._

 _To be fair, they say that Weiss is the best character in RWBY. And you don't seem to mind her screentime. Other characters will get their own arcs though, I can assure you that._

 _I could have made Jacques more evil but I didn't want to make him a puppy smasher. That would be a little crazy.  
_

 _Bye._


End file.
